Columbia  (Hmtersitp 
mtl)f(£ttp0fjtoj>0rk 


LIBRARY 


SIDELIGHTS  ON  THE 
HOME  RULE  MOVEMENT 


First  Edition  ....     May,  1906. 
Reprinted June,   1906. 


SIDELIGHTS  ON  THE 
HOME  RULE  MOVEMENT 


BY 

SIR  ROBERT  ANDERSON,  K.C.B.,  LL.D. 


NEW   YORK 

E.   P.   DUTTON   AND   COMPANY 

1906 


Printed  in  Great  Britain 


hRIN'TBD   BY    WILLIAM  CLOUT*   AND  SON'S,    I.IMITFIi, 
Lo:-'L"''''     MS    III  '  LK9. 


PREFACE 

It  is  often  difficult  to  find  a  suitable  name  for 
a  child.  Far  more  difficult  is  it  to  find  a  suit- 
able title  for  a  book.  For  while  a  name  may 
be  chosen  just  because  it  is  borne  by  some  one 
else,  a  book  must  have  a  title  peculiar  to  itself. 
The  title  of  the  present  work  satisfies  at  least 
that  condition. 

It  has  the  further  merit  indeed  of  indicating 
that  the  scope  of  these  pages  is  limited.  For, 
apart  from  the  personal  element  which  per- 
vades them,  they  contain  but  little  save  what 
is  either  not  generally  known,  or  generally  mis- 
understood. "  Party  politics "  are  rigidly  ex- 
cluded, as  is  everything  that  would  savour  of 
appeals  to  prejudice  or  passion. 

And  though  the  author  is  an  Irishman,  con- 
siderations of  a  kind  that  concern  only  the  Irish 
themselves  are  here  ignored.  The  Home  Rule 
which  the  Revolutionists  demand  might  be  com- 
pared to  a  divorce ;  while  the  D  evolutionists  of 
various  grades  would  be  content  with  something 
akin    to    a    judicial    separation.     But    it    often 


vi  PREFACE 

happens  that  a  woman  who  is  eager  for  that 
sort  of  limited  independence  fails  to  realise  until 
too  late  that  it  involves  loss  of  social  position, 
and  deprives  her  of  access  to  her  husband's 
cheque  book. 

This  parable  does  not  need  to  be  interpreted. 
With  very  many  Irishmen  who  love  their 
country  quite  as  much  as  the  Home  Rulers  do, 
England's  share  in  governing  Ireland  weighs  but 
little  in  comparison  with  Ireland's  share  in 
governing  not  only  England  but  the  Empire. 
And  mere  sentiment  does  not  blind  them  to 
an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  substantial 
benefits  of  the  Union. 

But  in  Ireland  Provincialism  is  apt  to  be 
mistaken  for  Patriotism. 

Some  readers  may  think  that  the  author's 
acquaintance  with  the  matters  of  which  he  treats 
is  unduly  limited.  Others  may  conjecture,  pos- 
sibly, that  he  has  been  deliberately  economical 
in  using  the  knowledge  he  possesses ;  but  it  is 
hoped  that  readers  of  both  classes  may  derive 
some  interest  and  information  from  the  volume. 

K.   A 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    I 
INTRODUCTORY:    THE  AFFAIRE  LE  CARON 

PAGE 

How  this  book  originated— Mr.  Morley's  "  Life  of  Gladstone  " 
— The  affaire  Le  Caron — Origin  of  the  Times-ParneU 
Special  Commission  — Le  Caron  and  his  evidence — I 
return  his  letters  to  him— Sir  William  Harcourt's  attack 
on  me  for  doing  so— My  defence— My  letter  to  the  Times         1 

CHAPTER   II 
MY   RELATIONS  WITH   SIR  WILLIAM   HARCOURT 

The  purpose  and  effect  of  my  Times  letter — A  letter  from  Sir 
William  Harcourt — Mr.  Labouchere  and  Mr.  John  Morley 
attack  me — Mr.  Matthew's  defence  of  me — My  relations 
with  Sir  William  Harcourt :  personal  incidents — A  Home 
Office  wrangle — A  dinner  party  at  Lord  Rosebery's — 
Henri  Le  Caron  and  my  dealings  with  him        ...       18 

CHAPTER   III 
LOCAL   AND   PERSONAL 

I, introduce  myself  to  the  reader — My  claim  to  be  Irish — My 
College  days — Reminiscences  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin — 
Absence  of  religious  intolerance — Attitude  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Bishops — Evil  influenceof  Maynooth — Theological 
Colleges — Parallel  of  the  Dutch  Protestant  ministers  in 
South  Africa  :  letter  from  an  "  old  Free  State  burgher  " — 
The  demand  for  a  Roman  Catholic  University  ...       27 

b 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IV 
ANCIENT   HISTORY 

PAGE 

My  knowledge  of  the  Fenian  movement — The  State,  trials  of 
1865 — My  work  for  Lord  Mayo — Mr.  Morley  on  ignorance 
of  Irish  history — His  book  deepens  it — Ancient  history  : 
Noah's  niece — Strongbow's  invasion  under  Pope  Adrian's 
hull,  instigated  by  Dermod,  King  of  Leinster — Henry  II. 
lands — Cromwell's  cruelties — Hume' on  the  rebellion  of 
1641 — The  Penal  Laws — The  state  of  Ireland  under 
Grattan's  Parliament — The  "Coercion  Acts"  of  that 
period — Lord  Clare  on  the  state  of  Ireland  in  1800  .  .       36 

CHAPTER   V 

THE   FENIAN   MOVEMENT 

The  condition  of  Ireland  before  and  during  the  Famine — 
Repeal  of  the  Arms  Act — Sir  George  Grey's  Crime  and 
Outrage  Act — The  Rebellion  of  1848 — A  decade  of  pros- 
perity, 18.50-1860— Misgovernment  of  1860-1865  :  Lord 
Carlisle  and  Sir  Robert  Peel — "  Larcom  and  the  Police  " 
— The  origin  of  Feuianism  :  James  Stephens  and  John 
O'Mahony — The  McManus  funeral — The  Irish  People 
newspaper — The  personnel  at  Dublin  Castle  :  Lord  Wode- 
house's  Viceroyalty — The  newspaper  seized  and  its  staff  4 
convicted  and  sentenced  .......       46 

CHAPTER   VI 

THE   "F.B."   AND  THE    "RISING"   OF   1867 

The  American  Fenian  Brotherhood — Three  Annual  Conventions 
— John  Mitchell  released  by  President  Johnson~at  the 
request  of  the  Fenians — Stephens'  plans  for  the  "  Rising  " 
— Fenian  activity  :  the  Habeas  Corpus  Suspension  Act, 
1866— The  first  Fenian  raid  on  Canada  The  Campohello 
expedition  Stephens'  arrival  in  America  :  assumes  the 
control  and  announces  that  an  Irish  insurrection  IS 
imminent — The  effect  of  the  agitation  in  Ireland — 
Stephens'  overtures  to  Cluseret  and  others  Stephens 
dcposeil — Kelly's  leadership— Godfrey  Massey'E  mie  ion — 
The  "  Rising"  of  March  5,  L867  tecounl  of  the  skir- 
mishes at  Tallaght  and  Kilmallock — John  Mitchell's 
e  Innate  ..........       56 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  VII 
THE    CLERKENWELL   EXPLOSION 

PAGE 

The  prisoners  of  the  "  Rising " — The  selection  of  cases  for 
trial:  mode  of  procedure — Finding  " Queen's  evidence" 
— Selection  of  Godfrey  Massey— The  Special  Commission 
— Death  sentences  for  High  Treason — The  Manchester 
outrage — Dublin  Castle  en  vacanee — Neglect  of  the  warn- 
ing— The  Clerkenwell  explosion — The  warning  from 
Dublin  neglected — The  plot  carried  out,  but  its  purpose 
thwarted — The  police  action — Panic  in  London — Enrol- 
ment of  special  constables— A  wild  scare — Effects  of  the 
explosion — Mr.  Gladstone's  speeches         ....       69 

CHAPTER   VIII 

FROM    1867  TO   1880 

I  come  to  London — Effects  of  the  Fenian  scare — Michael 
Barrett  convicted  and  executed — Michael  Davitt  becomes 
Fenian  arms  agent — The  Fenians  steal  volunteer  rifles — 
A  "  find  "  in  Soho— A  Home  Office  Conference— Sir  J.  D. 
Coleridge — The  proceedings  of  the  American  Fenians — 
The  Canada  raid  of  1870— From  1870  to  1878— John 
Devoy  and  the  "New  Departure" — Espoused  by  Michael 
Davitt — The  Land  League — Parnell  visits  America,  and 
accepts  the  Fenian  platform      ......       80 

CHAPTER   IX 

FROM   1880  TO  THE   KILMAINHAM  TREATY 

Dislike  to  Secret  Service  work — Sir  William  Harcourt  sends 
for  me — His  resentment  at  my  reserve — The  safety  of 
informants — An  illustrative  incident— How  a  leading 
Fenian  was  secured — Boycotting  in  Ireland — Forster's 
"Suspects  Act,  1881" — The  Ladies'  Land  League — Mr. 
Gladstone's  Leeds  speech,  October,  1881 — Paruell's  reply 
— His  arrest — A  further  philippic  by  Mr.!  Gladstone — 
The  Kilmainham  Treaty— The  negotiations  for  the  treaty 
—  Captain  O'Shea  and  Mr.  Chamberlain — An  admission 
by  Mr.  Gladstone  in  1893 — Lord  Ashbourne's  article  on 
it— Mr.  Gladstone  and  Mrs.  O'Shea  ....       88 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   X 

THE   PHCENIX   PARK    MURDERS 

I'm,  I-. 

Murder  of  Lord  F.  Cavendish  and  Mr.  Burke -—No  memorial 
of  the  crime  Neglect  of  precautions — Plots  against  Sir 
S.  L.  Anderson  and  Mr.  Forster — Mr.  Morley's  comments 
on  the  crime — Of  less  significance  than  preceding  murders 
—An  opportunity  to  test  ParneU  and  the  treaty  —Fatal 
policy  of  compromise— Gladstone's  Coercion  Act  of  1882 
— Other  Land  League  murders  Mr.  Gladstone's  responsi- 
bility— Action  taken  hy  I'arnell  and  Davitt  Complicity 
of  the  Land  League  officials — My  efforts  to  seize  the 
money  supplied  to  the  criminals — An  interview  with  Sir 
\V.  Harcourt  -Parnell's  knowledge  of  the  Land  League 
crimes — Mr.  Morley's  silence  —  His  injustice  to  Mr. 
Forster L02 

CHAPTER   XI 

THE   IRISH    NATIONAL   LEAGUE 

The  Irish  National  League — Its  programme  an  answer  to 
a  challenge  of  Mr.  Gladstone's— The  American  branch 
formed  hy  Fenians  and  Parnellite  M.P.'s — The  Phila- 
delphia Convention  of  liiii'A  :  attended  hy  the  refugees  of 
the  Dublin  murder  conspiracy  Message  from  Parnell — 
Speech  hy  Alex.  Sullivan,  who  was  elected  President 
The  dynamite  work  of  the  League — The  Boston  Conven- 
tion of  l»!!l  :  Patrick  Egan  president — Speeches  hy  Mr. 
Sexton  and  Mr.  W.   K.  Redmond ll'i 


CHAPTEB    XII 

THE   DYNAMITE  CAMPAIGN 

Col.  Rrackenhury's  appointment  :it  I  >ulilm  <  'astle  — My  relatione 
with  him  The  dynamite  emissaries:  Gallagher,  Mackay 
Lomasney — Plots  against  the  Bouse  of  Commons — Sir  VI 
Harcourt's  Explosives  Act— Edward  Bell's  Case,  1890 — A 
reference  to  Lord  Salisbury— Application  by  the  prisoner's 
lawyer— Abandonmenl  of  the  prosecution    The  Queen's 

Jubilee  plot      Revelations  of  the  Cronin    murder   trial   in 

Chicago I-1 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  SPECIAL  COMMISSION 

Mr.  Morley's  prejudices — His  erroneous  estimate  of  the  tribunal 
— The  absence  of  a  jury — The  course  of  procedure— An 
Irish  juryman's  story — The  Pigott  letters:  a  coup  de 
theatre — The  gravity  of  the  charges  proved  by  legal 
evidence — The  Byrne  cheque — The  Invincibles — The  Laud 
League  books  spirited  away — Mr.  Morley's  attitude — The 
expense  of  the  inquiry — The  neutrality  of  the  (Government 
— The  conduct  of  the  Times  case — Pigott's  evidence — 
The  "  facsimile  "  letter — Parnell's  character,  career  and 
lapse 135 

CHAPTER   XIV 

WHY   I   WAS  NOT   A   WITNESS 

My  connection  with  the  case — Mr.  Labouchere's  charges,  and 
my  action  respecting  them — Mr.  Morley  on  Le  Caron  and 
his  evidence — The  introduction  of  my  name — I  ask  to  be 
examined — Sir  Henry  James  objects — Why  I  did  not  press 
my  demand— The  nature  of  the  evidence  offered       .         .     147 

CHAPTER   XV 

LE  CARON   AND   HIS   EVIDENCE 

Le  Caron's  interview  with  Parnell — It  was  Parnell  who  asked 
for  it — Parnell's  overtures — Le  Caron's  account  of  the 
interview  —  Significance  of  the  interview — Mr.  Morley's 
misrepresentation  of  it — Parnell's  Fenian  sympathies  — His 
ignorance  of  public  affairs — His  hatred  of  England — Le 
Caron's  discharge  of  the  mission  entrusted  to  him — The 
action  taken  on  it  by  the  1881  Convention — My  use  of 
Le  Caron's  information — My  visits  to  him  during  his  last 
illness 155 

CHAPTER   XVI 

THE  CASE   FOR   HOME   RULE 

The  origin  of  this  book — The  nature  of  the  present  inquiry — 
The  Irish  hatred  of  England  :  a  legacy  from  the  past — 
The  destruction  of  Irish  industries — Mr.  Swift  MacNeill 
quoted — Most   felt    by   the    Protestants,   and    especially 


xii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

by  the  Presbyterians  —  These  classes  were  England's 
bitterest  opponents — Their  present  "attitude  :  united  in 
favour  of  the  Union  —  But  Home  Rule  not  a  religious 
question— The  educated  classes  arc  for  the  Union— The 
Union  a  Bignal  success — The  need  for  "coercion"  dis- 
cussed— An  illustrative  case — Criminal  apathy  followed 
by  extreme  measures  of  repression — Parnell's  answer  to 
Davitt — Home  Rule  would  create  a  new  Irish  question  of 
the  most  dangerous  kind  .         .         .         .         .         .         .100 

CHAPTER   XVII 

MR.   GLADSTONE  AND  HIS   POLICY 

Mr.  Alorley's  presentation  of  Home  Rule — The  agitation  was 
a  personal  triumph  for  Mr  Gladstone — His  power  over 
men — Two  personal  incidents  —  The  grounds  on  which 
Home  Rule  is  commended — G  rattan's  Parliament  and 
Pitt's  methods — "The  sea  forbids  the  Union  " — Inhabiting 
an  island  does  not  constitute  a  nation — There  is  no  "Irish 
race" — The  demand  of  the  electorate — The  real  "city" 
and  the  real  Ireland  —  Mr.  Blight's  testimony  —  The 
question  claims  decision  on  practical  lines  .         .         .     182 

CHAPTER   XVI II 

CONCLUSION:   AN   ALTERNATIVE   POLICY 

The  "  devolution  "  scheme — Mr.  Gladstone's  testimony — The 
Parnellite  demand  for  National  self-government — Parnell's 
refu-al  to  accept  anything  else  as  final — Mr.  Gladstone 
and  Mr.  Morley  on  a  "divided  Ireland  " — They  both  con- 
temptuously ignore  the  real  Ireland—  Mr.  Bright's  letter 
of  May  13,  1880— Impossibility  of  separating  between  local 
and  Imperial  affairs-  Mr.  Motley's  statement — The  latest 
demand  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Redmond — Mr.  Gladstone's  former 
answer  -Home  Rule  administration  :  governing  according 
to  Irish  ideas — Sir  W.  Harcourt's  refutation  of  this — 
Governing  according  to  Imperial  ideas  the  real  need 
And  yet  the  Union  has  won  it-  way — The  great  Unioni  t 
Conventions  of  1892 194 

APPENDIX 209 

INDEX 223 


1 

CM 

3 
S 

to 
oo 

"3 
Pi 

13 

"3 
03 

EC 

C.  P.  Fortescue. 

Lord  Naas  (Earl  of  Mayo,  1867). 

Col.  Wilson  Pattcu. 
C.  P.  Fortescue. 
Marquis  of  Hartingtou  (1870). 
Sir  M.  Hicks-Beach. 
James  Lowther  (1878,). 
W.  E.  Forster. 

Lord    F.    Cavendish    (assassi- 
nated Mav-6,  1882). 
G.  0.  Trevelyan  (1882). 
H.  Campbell-Banuerman  (1884). 
Sir  W.  Hart-Dyke. 
John  Morley. 
Sir  M.  Hicks-Beach. 
A.  J.  Balfour  (Mar.  9,  1887). 
W.  L.  Jackson  (1891). 
John  Morley. 

G.  W.  Balfour. 
George  Wyndham. 

"S 

a 

a 

O 

Earl  of  Carlisle. 
Lord  Wodehouse  (Nov.  1864). 
(Crea.  Earl  of  Kimberley, 

Marquis  of  Abercom. 

Earl  Spencer. 

Duke  of  Abercom. 

Duke  of  Marlborough  (1876). 

Earl  Cowper. 

Earl  Spencer  (May,  1882). 

Earl  of  Carnarvon. 
Earl  of  Aberdeen. 
Marquis  of  Londonderry. 
Earl  of  Zetland  (Oct.  5,  1889). 

Lord  Houghton. 

Earl  Cadogan. 

O 

OQ 

a 

o 

w 

to 

oo 

«> 
fcn 

o 
S 

'■7i 

Spencer  Walpole. 
Gathome  Hardy  (1867). 

H.  A.  Bruce. 
Robert  Lowe  (1873). 
R.  A.  Cross. 

Sir  W.  V.  Harcourt. 

Sir  R.  Cross. 
H.  E.  Childers. 
Henry  Matthews. 

H.  H.  Asquith. 
Sir  M.  H.  Ridley. 

a 

3 

a 

a 

M 

o> 

"3 
c 

rt 

3 
o 
o 

r- 

Earl  Russell. 
Earl  of  Derby. 

B.  Disraeli. 

W.  E.  Gladstone. 

B.  Disraeli  (Earl  of  Beacons- 
field,  1876). 
W.  E.  Gladstone. 

Marquis  of  Salisbury. 
W.  E.  Gladstone. 
Marquis  of  Salisbury. 

W.  E.  Gladstone. 
Earl  of  Rosebery. 
Marquis  of  Salisbury. 

oi 

00 

1865,  Nov.  6. 

1866,  July  6. 

1868,  Feb.  27. 
1868,  Dec.  9. 

1874,  Feb.  21. 

1880,  April  28. 

1885,  June  24. 

1886,  Feb.  16. 
1886,  Aug.  3. 

1892,  Aug.  16. 

1894,  May  13. 

1895,  July  2. 

Ow 


Is 


Q  a- 


a. a 


02.2,2} 
«h  .a  * 
o  -^  -^ 
^  rt  a 

cl  a 

o  "2   o> 

CO  «<-! 
„.   rt  "O 

2"    * 

5  <u  °, 
I- 1— I 
*-  C3 
B        a> 

O    «!d 

•-  m-f 
3  °C  to 

in 

o  a>   J2 

«co  a 

e«2 

23^ 

°  a 

o  ij  a 
■a  « -2 

OQ 
J    O)    <o 

2f  8 

*  ,a-  = 


SIDELIGHTS  ON  THE  HOME 
RULE  MOVEMENT 

CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTORY  :    THE    AFFAIRE  LE    CARON 

In  the  course  of  a  country  walk  with  some  Irish 
friends,  who  were  not  unversed  in  public  affairs, 
"  the  Parnell  Movement,"  and  the  Special  Com- 
mission which  dealt  with  the  Times  charges 
against  the  Irish  leader,  became  the  subject  of 
our  conversation.  Certain  remarks  of  mine  led 
my  friends  to  urge  upon  me  that  I  should  write 
my  "  Reminiscences." 

In  reply,  I  assured  them  of  my  intention  to 
take  to  salmon  fishing,  and  to  write  a  book  of 
reminiscences  as  soon  as  my  mental  faculties 
began  to  fail. 

But,  they  pleaded,  history  was  in  the  making 
about  these  matters,  and  to  throw  what  light  I 
could  upon  them  was  a  debt  I  owed  the  public. 

"  That  may  be  so,"  I  replied,  "  but  the  debt 
must  remain  unpaid  till  Sir  William  Harcourt 
goes." 

B 


2       THE  AFFAIRE  LE  CARON     [chap. 

Which  brought  up  the  inquiry  whether  I  was 
under  any  obligations  of  secrecy  or  loyalty  to  Sir 
William  Harcourt ;  and  the  answer  that,  on  the 
contrary,  he  had  treated  me  very  badly  indeed 
in  this  very  matter  of  the  Special  Commission. 
"  And  yet,"  I  went  on  to  say,  "  I  have  a  feeling 
of  regard  for  him  which  borders  almost  on 
affection,  and  I  would  not  write  a  single  line 
that  would  be  likely  to  annoy  or  distress  him  in 
his  closing  years."  And  in  explanation  of  my 
words  I  told  them  something  of  what  I  am 
about  to  record  in  the  present  chapter. 

Little  did  I  think  that  that  very  day  Sir 
William  Harcourt  was  lying  dead  at  Nuneham  ! 
For  the  date  was  October  1,  1904. 

Many  things  have  intervened  to  delay  my 
fulfilling  the  task  thus  suggested  to  me.  And 
yet  considerations  have  not  been  wanting  to 
make  me  desire  to  enter  on  it.  I  may  instance 
in  particular  that  the  publication  of  that 
charming  historical  romance,  the  Irish  sections 
of  Mr.  John  Morley's  "  Life  of  Gladstone,"  is 
fitted  to  lend  importance  to  some  portions  of 
my  story. 

For  that  biography,  being  the  work  of  an 
ex-Mi nister  for  Ireland,  gives  a  quasi-official 
sanction  to  many  false  beliefs  now  current.  It 
assumes,  for  instance,  that  the  Fenian  movement 
originated  on  Irish  soil  as  the  natural  outcome 
of  bad  land  laws  and  the  presence  of  "  an  alien 


r]      THE  PURPOSE  OF  THIS  BOOK      3 

Church."  It  represents  the  outrages  of  1867,  at 
Manchester  and  Clerkenwell,  as  the  work  of  a 
deeply  rooted  conspiracy,  and  thus  as  being 
events  that  rightly  forced  "  the  Irish  question  " 
to  the  front.  And  on  other  matters,  such  as  the 
Parnell  Special  Commission,  for  example,  it  pre- 
sents a  wholly  misleading  picture  ;  not,  of  course, 
by  any  departure  from  the  truth,  but  by  present- 
ing facts  and  persons  in  a  false  perspective.  The 
story  is,  in  fact,  the  work  of  a  dramatist  rather 
than  of  a  historian. 

Possibly,  therefore,  it  will  not  be  deemed 
presumptuous  in  one  who  has  very  special  know- 
ledge of  these  matters  to  contribute  his  quota 
to  the  materials  on  which  a  history  of  this 
movement  and  of  these  events  may  yet  be  based. 
Opportunities  of  obtaining  information  do  not, 
of  course,  imply  capacity  to  use  it  ;  but  so  far  as 
the  opportunities  are  concerned,  my  position  has 
been  exceptional,  if  not  unique. 

Apart,  moreover,  from  considerations  of  this 
kind,  my  purpose  has  been  stimulated  by  the 
wish,  in  anticipation  of  the  appearance  of  Sir 
William  Harcourt's  Biography,  to  place  my 
humble  wreath  upon  his  grave.  And  this  wish 
it  is  which  leads  me,  even  at  the  cost  of  dis- 
locating my  narrative,  to  make  the  "  Affaire 
Le  Caron  "  of  1889  the  burden  of  these  opening 
pages.  For  my  tournament  with  my  former 
chief  over  that  matter   illustrates  a  side  of  his 


4        THE  AFFAIRE  LE  CAllON     [chap. 

character   which   was   not  understood  even    by 
some  who  think  they  knew  him  well. 

This  book  makes  no  pretensions  to  be 
"history."  My  aim,  as  I  have  said,  is  merely 
to  make  some  slight  additions  to  the  stock  of 
materials  upon  which  historians  may  draw.  X 
need  not  apologise,  therefore,  for  thus  violating 
chronological  order  by  bringing  in  matters  here 
which  will  come  up  again  at  a  later  stage  of  my 
story.  And  as  a  new  generation  has  grown  to 
manhood  since  the  days  when  Le  Caron's  name 
was  on  everybody's  lips  and  the  Special  Com- 
mission attracted  universal  notice,  a  few  explana- 
tory sentences  may  be  opportune,  in  order  to 
bring  all  my  readers  abreast  of  the  events  with 
which  I  am  about  to  deal. 

Early  in  1887  a  series  of  articles  appeared  in 
the  Times,  under  the  heading  "  Parnellism  and 
Crime."*  As  indicated  by  their  title,  these 
articles  sought  to  identify  the  Irish  Nationalist 
movement  with  various  criminal  conspiracies. 
And  they  culminated  in  the  publication,  on 
April  18,  of  a  letter  attributed  to  the  Irish 
leader,  in  which  the  murder  of  Lord  Frederick 
Cavendish  and  Mr.  T.  H.  Burke  was  condoned 
and  justified.  Other  letters  of  a  still  more  dis- 
creditable character  appeared  in  later  issues  of 
the  paper.      In  the  following  year  a  "  Special 

*  The  first  article  of  the  series  was  published  in  the  Times  of 
March  7,  1887. 


i]  LE  CARON  IN  THE  WITNESS-BOX    5 

Commission,"  consisting  of  three  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  was  appointed  by  Lord  Salis- 
bury's Government  to  investigate  these  allega- 
tions and  charges ;  and  the  proprietors  of  the 
Times  were  called  upon  to  produce  the  evidence 
on  which  they  were  based. 

One  of  the  chief  sensations  of  that  inquiry 
was  the  appearance  of  Major  Henri  le  Caron  in 
the  witness-box.  This  remarkable  man  has  told 
his  own  life  story,*  and  I  need  not  give  it  here. 
The  son  of  a  Mr.  Beach,  a  worthy  and  respected 
citizen  of  Colchester,  his  love  of  adventure  led 
him  to  leave  home  as  a  boy.  After  filling  some 
engagements  in  London  and  elsewhere,  he 
crossed  the  Channel  to  seek  his  fortune  in  Paris, 
and  in  1861  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  serve  in 
the  Federal  army  during  the  American  Civil 
War.  Thus  it  came  about  that  he  made 
acquaintance  with  "  General "  John  O'Neil,  who 
afterwards  became  head  of  the  Fenian  organi- 
zation in  America,  and  promoted  Fenian  raids 
on  Canada.  Le  Caron's  patriotism  was  of  the 
type  that  a  cynic  would  deem  quixotic,  and  he 
joined  the  Fenians  in  order  to  thwart  their 
projects — "to  serve  as  a  military  spy  in  the 
interests  of  his  native  country."  He  had  no 
thought    of    "  Secret    Service    money,"    or    of 

*  "  Twenty-five  Years  in  the  Secret  Service. "  In  that  book  he 
tells  how,  in  pure  wantonness,  he  assumed  his  French  name  when 
landing  in  America. 


6        THE  AFFAIRE  LE  CARON     [chap. 

employment  under  the  Home  Office  or  Scotland 
Yard.  His  only  "  reports "  were  his  private 
letters  to  his  father,  whom  he  kept  informed  of 
all  he  saw  and  heard,  and  who  communicated 
some  of  the  information  thus  obtained  to  Mr. 
Rebow,  M.P.  for  Colchester.  Matters  remained 
on  this  footing  until  the  winter  of  1867,  when 
the  Clerkenwell  explosion  brought  Fenianism 
to  the  front  in  England.  Mr.  Rebow  then 
suggested  that  Le  Caron  should  be  placed  in 
touch  with  some  one  representing  the  Govern- 
ment. He  was  put  in  communication  with 
me,  and  thus  began  the  correspondence  which 
lasted  for  the  twenty  years  that  ended  by  his 
appearing  as  a  witness  before  the  Special  Com- 
mission. 

Our  bargain  was  that,  while  the  information 
he  afforded  might  be  used  by  me  freely  in  the 
public  interest,  his  letters  were  to  be  deemed 
private.  And  so,  when  he  decided,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  " to  testify  for  the  Times"  he  claimed, 
in  pursuance  of  this  bargain,  to  have  access  to 
his  letters  in  order  to  enable  him  to  prepare  his 
evidence.  To  this  demand  I  acceded  ;  and  for 
doing  so  Sir  William  Harcourt  declared  war 
upon  me.  In  reply  to  a  question  in  Parliament, 
on  March  1,  l.xs<>,  Mr.  Matthews,  the  Home 
Secretary,  informed  him  that  in  this  matter  "  I 
had  acted  without  his  knowledge  or  sanction." 
And  he  thereupon  gave  notice — 


i]    SIR  W.  HARCOURT  ATTACKS  ME   7 

"  That  on  the  Vote  on  Account  relating  to 
the  Metropolitan  Police  he  would  call  attention 
to  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Anderson  in  handing 
over  confidential  documents  without  leave 
from  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  its  bearing 
upon  his  position  as  Assistant  Commissioner 
of  Police  in  charge  of  the  Criminal  Investigation 
Department." 

A  fortnight  later,  speaking  on  a  political 
platform  in  Lambeth,  he  used  these  words — 

"  The  confidential  agent,  the  Commissioner 
of  Police,  the  head  of  the  Criminal  Investigation 
Department,  goes  and  hands  over  to  an  in- 
former and  to  the  agent  of  the  Times,  the 
secret  papers  of  the  Home  Office  without  the 
consent  of  the  Home  Secretary.  I  should 
have  liked  to  see  a  man  in  that  position  do 
such  a  thing  under  any  of  the  predecessors  of 
the  Home  Secretary.  I  know  where  he  would 
have  been  to-day.  It  would  not  have  been  at 
Scotland  Yard." 

This  appeared  in  the  newspapers  of  Wed- 
nesday, March  20.  At  five  o'clock  that  day 
I  had  a  visit  at  my  office  from  a  friend,  who 
came  straight  from  the  House  of  Commons  to 
tell  me  "  that  the  whole  business  of  the  empire 
had  been  put  aside  in  order  to  discuss  my 
evil  deeds,"  and  that  Sir  William  Harcourt, 
in  particular,  had  attacked  me  fiercely.  His 
object   in   calling   was    to    warn   me    that    my 


8        THE  AFFAIRE  LE  CARON     [chap. 

position  was  critical,  and  to  urge  me  to  move 
at  once  in  my  own  defence.  "  A  letter  to 
the  Times"  I  remarked,  "  might  roll  back  the 
tide  of  war.  But  would  it  embarrass  the 
Secretary  of  State  ? "  "It  would  only  help 
the  Secretary  of  State,"  he  assured  me  ;  and  as 
he  was  a  personal,  as  well  as  a  political,  friend 
of  Mr.  Matthews,  I  accepted  his  assurance.  I 
should  here  say,  however,  that,  as  I  afterwards 
ascertained,  he  had  had  no  communication 
as  hatever  with  Mr.  Matthews  on  the  subject. 

My  first  requirement,  of  course,  was  to 
know  exactly  what  had  been  said  in  the 
House.  So  after  dinner  that  evening  1  made 
for  the  Times  office,  and  appealed  to  the 
editor  to  let  me  see  a  proof  of  the  report 
of  the  debate — a  request  to  which  he  at  once 
acceded. 

Sir  William  Harcourt's  platform  denuncia- 
tions had  not  alarmed  me.  In  the  same  con- 
nection he  branded  Sir  Richard  Webster  as 
"  a  disgrace  to  the  English  Bar  ;  "  and  nothing 
he  said  of  me  was  quite  as  bad  as  that.  That 
was  "  his  way."  But  his  words  as  leader  of 
the  Opposition  in  the  House  of  Commons  could 
not  be  treated  lightly.  And  he  had  charged 
me,  I  learned,  with  "acting  as  a  tout  for  the 
Times"  and  "  betraying  the  secrets  of  my 
Department,"  thus  proving  that  I  was  "  utterly 
useless    in   the    office    I    held."     Had    he  been 


j]  I    DEFEND    MYSELF  9 

Home  Secretary,  he  declared,  "  a  man  in  Mr. 
Anderson's  position  would  not  have  remained 
twenty-four  hours  in  Scotland  Yard." 

Though  1  am  a  man  of  peace  I  never  shirk 
a  fight,  and  this  sort  of  thing  was  just  what  was 
best  fitted  to  put  me  on  my  mettle.  So  I  took 
up  my  pen  at  once,  and  a  couple  of  hours 
later  I  handed  my  apologia  to  the  editor.  Mr. 
Buckle  was  most  sympathetic,  and  set  himself 
to  impress  on  me  the  gravity  of  the  course  I 
was  taking.  He  urged  me  to  hold  back  my 
letter  till  I  had  "slept  over  it."  "And  give 
the  lie  twenty-four  hours  start  ?  "  said  I.  "  No  ; 
I  know  what  I'm  doing,  and  I  fear  nothing 
but  delay." 

The  first  leading  article  in  the  Times  of 
next  morning  (March  21,  1889)  began  as 
follows : — 

"  We  have  too  much  respect  for  the  Special 
Commission  Court  and  for  the  purity  and  inde- 
pendence of  public  justice  to  attempt  to  discuss 
in  any  detail  the  questions  raised  by  Sir  William 
Harcourt  in  the  House  of  Commons  yesterday  ; 
and,  in  spite  of  all  provocations,  we  intend  to 
maintain  the  reserve  we  have  hitherto  shown 
till  the  time  comes  when  it  will  be  permissible 
to  speak.  For  the  same  reasons  we  can  hardly 
comment  upon  the  substance  of  Mr.  Anderson's 
letter,  which  we  publish  to-day,  and  will  only 
say   that    it    seems    to    stand   out    in   striking 

c 


10      THE  AFFAIRE  LE  CARON     [chap. 

contrast,  for  dignity  of  tone  and  straightforward 
statement,  with  the  combination  of  recklessness 
and  shiftiness  displayed  by  his  unscrupulous 
accusers." 

And  on  the  opposite  page  the  following 
letter  appeared,  with  all  the  prominence  which 
the  best  position  and  the  largest  type  could 
give  to  it : — 


"  Sir  W.  Harcourt  and  Mr.  Anderson. 
"  To  the  Editor  of  the  '  Times: 

"  Sir, 

"It  is  an  excellent  rule  that  Civil 
servants  of  the  Crown,  when  publicly  attacked, 
should  leave  their  defence  in  the  hands  of  their 
Parliamentary  chiefs.  I  have  always  observed 
that  rule,  and  I  have  no  intention  of  departing 
from  it.  But  when  acts  done  by  me  wholly 
outside  the  sphere  of  my  official  position  are 
assigned  as  proof  that  I  am  unworthy  of  the 
office  I  have  the  honour  to  hold  under  Her 
Majesty's  warrant,  I  must  not  shelter  myself 
behind  the  Secretary  of  State,  for  whose 
generous  defence  of  me  in  Parliament  to-day 
I  am  most  deeply  grateful.  It  is  my  privilege, 
as  it  is  clearly  my  duty,  to  put  myself  right 
with  the  public  immediately. 

"  The  proper  method  of  doing  so  is,  I  admit, 
by  appearing  in  the  witness-box  of  the  Com- 
mission   Court,  and    I   feel   seriously  aggrieved 


i]  MY    TIMES  LETTER  11 

that  this  has  been  hitherto  denied  me.  As  soon 
as  my  name  was  mentioned  in  the  ease  I  asked 
to  be  called.  For  that  purpose  I  saw  the 
Attorney- General  on  three  different  occasions, 
and  pressed  my  wishes  upon  him  and  Sir  Henry 
James  with  a  good  deal  of  warmth  and  perti- 
nacity. And  when  Sir  R.  Webster  announced 
what  has  been  called  '  the  closing  of  the  Times' 
case,'  I  communicated  with  him  again  and 
received  a  renewed  assurance  that  my  position 
as  a  witness  was  entirely  unchanged. 

"  If  I  am  right  in  thinking  that  this  whole 
discussion  is  grossly  disrespectful  to  the  Court 
over  which  Sir  James  Hannen  presides,  I  must 
plead  that  I  am  forced  against  my  will  to  make 
myself  a  party  to  the  '  contempt.' 

"  I  have  already  intimated  that  my  action 
in  relation  to  Major  Le  Caron's  evidence  was 
wholly  apart  from  my  official  position  as  Assis- 
tant Commissioner  of  Police.  It  arose  from 
the  fact  that  in  former  years,  in  an  entirely 
unofficial  position,  I  rendered  advice  and  assist- 
ance to  the  1880  Government  in  matters 
relating  to  political  crime.  A  complete  ex- 
planation of  my  conduct  would  involve  such 
an  appeal  to  documents  and  details  as  would 
amount  to  a  disclosure  of  the  secret  service 
arrangements  of  that  period.  To  me,  personally, 
the  disclosure  would  be  intensely  gratifying.  It 
would,  moreover,  supply  a  missing  chapter  of 
uncommon  interest  in  the  political  history  of 
recent  years.  But  Sir  W.  Harcourt  knows 
me  well  enough  to  feel  assured   that   I  would 


12      THE  AFFAIRE  LE  CARON     [chap. 

not,  except  under  compulsion,  say  anything  to 
embarrass  ex-Ministers  of  the  Crown  who 
admitted  me  in  any  measure  to  their  confidence. 
Whether  it  is  generous  of  him  to  take  advantage 
of  this  in  attacking  me  as  he  has  done  I  will 
not  discuss.  It  is  not  in  keeping  with  the 
kindness  I  have  hitherto  experienced  at  his 
hands. 

"  For  the  present,  at  least,  I  will  confine 
myself  to  a  bare  statement  of  the  facts.  I 
think  it  will  suffice  to  satisfy  even  Sir  W. 
Harcourt  himself  that  he  has  wronged  me. 
This  statement,  be  it  remembered,  I  expect 
to  repeat  on  oath  at  the  Commission  Court. 

"  When  Major  Le  Caron  called  on  me  in 
December,  having  been  summoned  to  England 
by  his  lather's  death,  he  repeated  the  expression 
of  his  desire  to  give  evidence  before  the  Com- 
mission. He  had  written  to  me  several  times 
about  this,  and  I  had  already  tried  to  dissuade 
him  from  it.  I  found  he  was  under  the  im- 
pression that  the  '  prosecution,'  as  he  called 
it,  was  a  Government  matter,  and  that  1  was 
personally  interested  in  it.  I  set  him  right 
on  both  these  points.  I  assured  him  that 
'  Scotland  Yard  '  had  no  part  whatever  in  the 
conduct  of  the  case — had  it  been  otherwise, 
the  presentation  of  it  woidd  possibly  be  very 
different ;  but  that,  in  fact,  I  had  never  received 
even  a  hint  that  Government  wished  me  to 
assist  the  Times,  and  I  had  never  been  as  much 
as  asked  a  question  as  to  what  I  knew  of  the 
matters  involved  in  the  inquiry.     1  went  on  to 


r]  MY  TIMES  LETTER,  CONTINUED  18 

speak  of  the  terrible  risks  and  penalties  he 
would  incur  by  coming  forward,  and  I  urged 
him  strongly  to  reconsider  his  decision. 

"  The  following  week  he  came  back  to  say  his 
mind  was  made  up.  He  could  not  forget,  said 
he,  that  he  was  an  Englishman  ;  he  had  gone 
into  the  conspiracy  solely  to  serve  his  country, 
and  now  he  would  see  the  matter  through,  and 
face  the  consequences.  He  ended  by  asking  me 
to  communicate  with  the  Times  on  his  behalf. 
This  I  point-blank  refused  to  do.  I  told  him 
again  that  I  had  had  no  communications  with 
the  Times  relative  to  the  conduct  of  the  case 
before  the  Commission,  and  that  I  would  not 
volunteer ;  all  I  would  promise  was  to  bear  his 
request  in  mind  if  1  should  be  applied  to. 

"  This  was  in  December.  Next  month  Mr. 
Mac  Donald  appealed  to  me  to  help  him  in 
finding  a  witness  to  prove  what  he  called  '  the 
American  part  of  the  case.'  I  believe  he  has 
been  generous  enough  to  forgive  me  for  the 
way  I  received  him.  If  he  had  come  to  me  in 
my  official  capacity,  it  would,  according  to  the 
usual  and  well-established  practice  of  my  office, 
have  been  my  duty  to  assist  him.  But  he 
applied  to  me  only  as  an  amicus  and  an  expert, 
and  I  sought  to  put  him  off  by  raising  all  kinds 
of  difficulties,  and  insisting  on  unreasonable 
conditions.  I  need  not  give  details.  I  mention 
the  matter  merely  to  mark  my  anxiety  to  keep 
Major  le  Caron  out  of  Court,  and  to  explain 
how  it  was  that  Mr.  Houston  came  upon  the 
scene.     After  much   discussion   I   consented  to 


14      THE  AFFAIRE  LE  CARON     [chap. 

put  the  witness  in  communication  with  some 
trustworthy  person  to  be  nominated  by  Mr. 
MacDonald,  under  certain  stringent  conditions 
of  secrecy.  Next  day  he  came  back  to  tell  me 
he  had  asked  Mr.  Houston  to  undertake  the 
task.  The  much  talked  of  '  letter  of  introduc- 
tion '  was  simply  three  lines  to  say  that  the 
bearer  was  the  person  I  had  promised  to  send. 

"And  now  as  to  the  letters.  Major  Le 
Caron's  satisfaction  with  these  arrangements 
was  entirely  destroyed  by  my  refusal  to  help 
him  in  preparing  his  statement.  He  was  crest- 
fallen when  I  told  him  I  could  not  see  him 
again  until  the  close  of  the  case.  He  referred 
to  my  often-repeated  assurance  that  I  treated 
his  letters  as  unofficial  papers,  and  declared  that 
he  was  counting  on  being  allowed  to  see  them, 
and  that  if  this  were  denied  him  he  could  not 
'  testify '  before  the  Commission.  AYrhat  was 
I  to  do  ?  The  strictly  regular  course  was,  as 
Sir  AY.  Harcourt  says,  to  refuse  to  produce  them 
until  I  received  the  inevitable  subpoena.  To  me 
this  was  a  matter  of  perfect  indifference.  But 
the  production  of  these  letters  would  have  been 
a  cause  of  serious  embarrassment  to  ex-Ministers, 
and  it  was  solely  due  to  my  sense  of  honourable 
obligations  to  them — legal  obligation  there  was 
none — that  I  adopted  the  only  alternative  open 
to  me.  Twenty-one  years'  acquaintance  with 
Major  Le  Caron  had  convinced  me  that  he  was 
a  man  of  scrupulous  truthfulness  and  integrity, 
and  I  determined  to  place  his  documents  at  his 
disposal.     I    shall  be  blamed  by  many  lor   my 


i]  MY  TIMES  LETTER.  CONTINUED  15 

efforts  to  prevent  him  from  giving  evidence, 
though  I  had  several  good  and  weighty  reasons 
for  doing  so.  But  once  he  decided  to  go  into 
the  witness-box,  my  duty  seemed  clear.  The 
question  was  not  whether  I  should  assist  the 
Times,  but  whether  I  should  set  myself  to 
thwart  the  Court.  I  may  here  remark  that  it 
is  not  true  that  I  gave  these  documents  either 
to  the  Times  or  to  Mr.  Houston.  Neither  the 
Times  nor  Mr.  Houston  has  access  to  them. 
Those  which  were  '  handed  in '  to  the  Court 
were  merely  manuscript  copies  of  American 
Fenian  circulars.  Not  a  single  one  of  the  em- 
barrassing letters  has  been  produced,  and  if  their 
production  be  now  called  for,  as  I  presume  it 
will,  Sir  W.  Harcourt  has  only  himself  and  Sir 
Charles  Russell  to  blame  for  it.  It  was  my 
anxiety  to  prevent  it  which  led  me  to  the  action 
now  complained  of. 

"  The  suggestion  that  I  should  have  pleaded 
privilege  for  these  manuscripts  as  being  official 
documents  claims  notice.  I  might,  of  course, 
have  set  up  such  a  plea,  but  the  following  facts 
will  make  it  clear  that  I  could  not  have  sus- 
tained it  without  prevaricating  to  the  verge  of 
falsehood.  The  letters  in  question  do  not  come 
within  the  definition  contained  in  the  Official 
Secrets  Bill  now  before  Parliament.  They  never 
were  on  record  in  a  Government  office.  They 
were  never  '  filed '  in  a  public  department.  I 
kept  them  at  my  private  residence.  When 
Sir  William  Harcourt  once  took  me  to  task 
for   acting   in   this  way  with    reference   to   my 


16      THE  AFFAIRE  LE  CAKON     [chap. 

informants,  I  immediately  asked  him  to  relieve 
me  of  my  share  in  the  secret  service  work  of 
the  Home  Office.  His  reply,  which  now  lies 
before  me,  reads  strangely  when  compared  with 
his  present  utterances. 

"  Nor  had  I  personally,  in  relation  to  such 
matters,  any  official  position  of  a  kind  to  lend 
an  official  character  to  the  documents  in  question. 
If  sometimes,  through  over-zeal,  T  placed  myself 
'  in  evidence '  in  any  way,  I  Avas  reminded  that 
I  had  '  no  official  position  whatever.'  When  I 
asked  for  a  salary  from  public  funds,  I  was  told 
it  was  impossible  because  I  had  '  no  official 
position.'  So  entirely  unofficial  were  my  re- 
lations with  the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  Irish 
Government  that  no  intimation  of  them  was 
ever  given  to  the  head  of  the  department  in 
which  I  had  then  recently  become  a  '  Civil 
servant,'  and  the  most  sustained  and  scrupulous 
care  was  taken  to  conceal  from  Her  Majesty's 
Treasury  the  fact  that  I  had  any  engagements 
outside  that  department.  But  now,  because  I 
happen  to  be  in  the  line  of  fire  between  the  two 
front  benches  in  Parliament,  it  is  contended  that 
I  had  an  official  position  all  the  time  ! 

"  But,  it  is  urged,  these  letters  were  paid  for 
by  the  Government.  This  is  an  ad  captandum 
argument  to  which  I  could  give  a  complete 
reply  if  I  were  relieved  from  the  honourable 
obligations  to  reticence  which  now  restrain  me. 
1  will  only  remark  that  giving  back  letters  to 
informants  is  not  an  uncommon  practice.  And 
this  discussion  may  do  good  if  certain  parties  on 


i]  MY  TIMES  LETTER,  CONTINUED  17 

both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  should  learn  from  it 
that  they  may  give  information  to  Her  Majesty's 
Government,  and  receive  remuneration  for  doing 
so,  with  the  certainty  that  their  secret  will  be  as 
well  kept  as  Le  Caron's  was,  and  that,  if  they 
like  to  make  the  condition,  their  communications 
shall  be  treated  as  strictly  unofficial  documents 
and  be  returned  to  them  at  any  time  they  wish 
to  claim  them. 

"  As  regards  Sir  W.  Harcourt's  criticisms 
upon  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties  my  mouth 
is  closed.  But  I  want  to  emphasize,  and  I  am 
prepared  to  substantiate  on  oath,  the  fact 
asserted  by  Mr.  Matthews  that  neither  the 
*  Assistant  Commissioner  of  Police '  nor  the 
department  which  he  controls  has  given  help 
to  the  Times  in  the  presentation  of  their  case 
before  the  Commission. 

"  I  am,  etc., 

"  R.  Anderson. 

"  March  20." 


1) 


CHAPTER   II 

RfY    RELATIONS    WITH    SIR    W.    HARCOURT 

The  success  of  my  Times  letter  was  complete. 
In  writing  it  I  had  a  double  purpose  in  view. 
I  knew  the  importance  of  putting  myself  right 
with  the  public  ;  but  I  wished  also  to  make 
a  covert  appeal  to  Sir  William  Harcourt.  For 
I  had  confidence  in  his  fairness  and  generosity, 
and  I  wanted  to  recall  to  his  memory  matters 
which  I  felt  sure  he  had  forgotten.  Here  is  his 
letter  to  me,  to  which  I  referred ;  *  and  the  only 
comment  I  need  make  upon  it  is  to  repeat  that 
among  the  "  modes  of  procedure  "  about  which 
we  differed,  my  arrangements  with  informants 
held  a  prominent  place  : — 

"  Private. 

"My  dear  Anderson, 

"  I  am  sorry  to  find  from  your  letter 
that  you  think  I  have  not  duly  appreciated  your 
indefatigable  exertions  in  the  disagreeable  duty 
which  has  fallen  to  you. 

"  I  assure  you  that  is  altogether  a  mistake, 
and  I  pray  you  to  dismiss  it  from  your  mind. 
*  See  p.  10,  ante. 


chap,  n]    A  FRESH  ATTACK  ON  ME     19 

"If  we  differ  sometimes  as  to  modes  of  pro- 
cedure, that  is  a  thing  which  must  be  looked  for. 
"  Pray  go  on  as  you  have  done  in  your  useful 
work,  and  you  may  rely  on  entire  sympathy  and 
support  from  me.  I  am  always  most  grateful 
for  your  reports  and  advice. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"W.  V.  Harcourt." 


But  though  my  letter  killed  the  "  Affaire  Le 
Caron  "  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  it  was  made 
the  ground  of  a  fresh  attack  upon  me.  The 
doctrinaire  Radical  has  peculiar  ideas  about 
liberty  and  fair  play,  and  Mr.  Labouchere's 
indignation  was  great  at  my  daring  to  defend 
myself  against  charges  that  were  both  false  and 
scandalous.  He  brought  up  the  matter  twice  at 
question  time  ;  and  when  the  House  reassembled 
after  the  Easter  recess,  it  was  made  the  subject 
of  a  set  debate. 

It  is  germane  to  my  present  purpose  to 
notice  that  on  this  occasion  Mr.  Matthews' 
vigorous  defence  of  me  was  based  on  the  fact, 
not  only  that  Sir  William  Harcourt 's  charges 
were  unjust,  but  that,  having  regard  to  the 
terms  "  of  violent  abuse "  in  which  they  were 
launched,  I  was  fully  justified  in  writing  to  the 
Press  to  refute  them.  This  in  turn  elicited 
a  venomous  attack  upon  me  from  Mr.  John 
Morley,  who  described   my  letter  as   "  one   of 


20        SIR  WILLIAM,  HARCOURT   [chap. 

the  meanest,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  insolent 
documents  ever  written."  The  reader  can  judge 
whether  these  offensive  epithets  are  not  more 
applicable  to  Mr.  Morley's  words  than  to  mine.* 

Though  1  had  no  communication  whatever 
with  the  Secretary  of  State  during  all  this 
period,  I  was  not  ignorant  of  what  had  tran- 
spired at  the  Home  Office.  Influenced  by  a 
sinister  adviser,  Mr.  Matthews'  first  intention 
was  to  throw  me  over.  But  the  Whips  gave 
warning  that  "  the  members  below  the  gang- 
way "  would  not  tolerate  this.  They  held  that 
by  my  letter  I  had  rendered  a  definite  service 
to  the  Government,  and  that  I  ought  to 
be  supported.  Hence  Mr.  Matthews'  vigorous 
defence  of  me  on  March  22,  and  again  on 
April  20. 

And  my  reason  for  emphasising  all  this  is 
to  show  that  no  element  was  wanting  to  make 
a  smaller  man  than  Sir  William  Harcourt  more 
determined  than  ever  to  have  my  "scalp."  And 
yet  from  the  day  my  letter  was  published,  he 
never  uttered  a  single  word  to  my  prejudice, 
but  on  the  contrary,  he  went  out  of  his  way  to 
prove  to  me  that  I  still  enjoyed  his  friendship. 

*  If,  even  at  the  time,  I  could  afford  to  ignore  Mr.  Morley's 
attack  ou  me,  I  can  certainly  afford  to  forget  it  now.  I  sometimes 
forgive  a  wrong,  but  1  never  forget  a  kindness  ;  and  the  maimer  in 
which  he  received  me  on  the  only  Occasion  on  which  1  ever  afiked  B 
favour  of  him— it  was  on  behalf  of  my  brother,  the.  late  Sir  Samuel 
Lee  Anderson,  during  his  last  illness— is  to  me  a  pleasant  and 
permanent  memory. 


ii]    SIR  W.  HARCOURT  GREETS  ME    21 

One  afternoon  shortly  after  this  Supply 
debate,  I  was  in  the  Members'  lobby,  and  seeing 
him  come  out  of  the  House,  I  went  forward  to 
speak  to  him.  He  failed  to  recognize  me,  how- 
ever, and  brushed  me  aside  as  he  passed.  An 
hour  later  the  incident  was  recorded,  with  a 
sensational  headline,  in  the  "  Special  Editions." 
A  few  days  afterwards  I  met  him  again  as  I  was 
leaving  the  House  by  the  Members'  staircase. 
He  was  engaged  in  close  conversation  with  M r. 
Childers,  and  leaning  on  his  arm.  I  saluted 
him  in  passing,  but  again  he  failed  to  notice 
me.  Before  I  reached  the  bottom  of  the  flight, 
however,  I  heard  him  calling  after  me,  and  on 
my  retracing  my  steps  he  greeted  me  with  all 
the  old  cordiality.  He  shook  me  warmly  by  the 
hand,  said  he  was  glad  to  see  me,  and  that  "  he 
hoped  I  ivas  getting  on  well  at  Scotland  Yard." 

When  Sir  William  Harcourt's  biography 
comes  to  be  written,  I  question  whether  it  will 
contain  anything  better  fitted  than  this  simple 
incident  to  illustrate  the  signal  generosity  of  his 
character. 

The  suggestion  that  if  he  thought  he  had 
wronged  me  he  ought  to  have  said  so  publicly, 
does  not  weigh  with  me.  For  he  knew  that  I 
had  put  myself  right  with  the  public,  and  that 
in  doing  so  I  had  "  scored  heavily "  at  his 
expense.  The  effect  this  had  on  smaller  men, 
I  have   already  shown.      But  with   him  not  a 


22        SIR  WILLIAM  HARCOURT    [chap. 

spark  of  anger  or  ill-will  resulted  from  it.  In 
moments  of  temper  he  sometimes  said  out- 
rageous things,  but  he  never  bore  malice.  In 
that  respect,  indeed,  he  was  more  like  a  warm- 
hearted schoolboy  than  the  cynic  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be. 

On  the  only  occasion  on  which  he  ever  spoke 
to  me  in  a  manner  to  hurt  my  self-respect,  my 
rejoinder  was,  "  Well,  sir,  of  course  my  mouth 
is  closed ;  for  you  are  the  Secretary  of  State, 
and  I  am  only  a  mere  subordinate."  We  were 
standing  on  the  hearthrug  in  his  room  in 
Grafton  Street,  and  glaring  at  me  in  a  passion, 
he  demanded  what  right  I  had  to  say  that  :  had 
he  ever  treated  me  in  that  way  ?  "  Sir  William, 
I  apologise,"  I  replied  ;  "  I'm  sorry  I  said  what  1 
did."  The  storm  passed  instantly,  and  sitting 
down  in  one  of  his  fireside  armchairs  he  motioned 
me  to  the  other.  Who  could  help  liking  such  a 
man !  I  could  cite  many  incidents  to  point  the 
same  moral,  but  I  will  content  myself  by  giving 
only  the  following  two. 

Arriving  late  at  the  Home  Office  one  day,  I 
heard  that  I  had  been  asked  for  repeatedly ;  and 
on  going  up  to  the  Secretary  of  State's  room,  1 
found  him  and  Sir  Adolphus  Liddell  wrangling 
over  an  important  matter  relating  to  the  Secret 
Service.  I  took  sides  with  the  Under  Secretary, 
and  we  had  a  warm  discussion  which  lasted  till 
the  Chief  left  for  the  House.     When  I  got  back 


n]       A  HOME  OFFICE  WRANGLE       23 

to  my  room,  and  went  into  the  matter  quietly, 
I  became  quite  certain  that  Sir  William  was 
wrong;  and  I  told  Sir  Adolphus  so,  giving  my 
reasons.  Our  afternoon  seance  had  made  him 
both  angry  and  sore,  for  the  Chief  had  said  some 
unpleasant  things.  So  he  sat  down  at  once  and 
wrote  to  Sir  William,  telling  him  what  I  had 
said. 

An  hour  later,  as  I  was  about  to  leave 
the  Office,  he  sent  for  me  again.  "  Read  that," 
said  he,  pointing  to  a  letter  lying  on  his  desk 
in  Sir  William's  big  spider-like  handwriting. 
It  was  a  perfectly  charming  letter,  making  a 
frank  and  full  amende.  Those  who  knew  Sir 
Adolphus  Liddell  can  realise  the  scene.  Not 
another  word  could  I  get  out  of  him,  and  I  sat 
down  and  waited  for  the  oracle  to  speak.  I 
believe  he  was  repenting  of  all  the  hard  things 
he  had  intended  to  say  and  do  in  consequence 
of  the  afternoon's  wrangle.  Then  at  last,  his 
face  lighting  up  like  that  of  a  schoolboy  who 
gets  a  cake  when  he  expects  a  kick,  he  blurted 
out,  "  Well,  he  can  be  nasty  when  he  likes, 
but  /  couldn't  have  written  that  letter.  Come 
along,  let  us  go  home."  And  as  we  walked 
together  he  talked  of  nothing  else,  and  frankly 
owned  that  he  was  "  only  beginning  to  under- 
stand Harcourt." 

When    Lord    Rosebery   was   at   the    Home 
Office,  his  relations  with  Sir  William  Harcourt 


24       SIR  WILLIAM  HARCOURT    [chap. 

became  at  one  time  somewhat  strained.  And 
when  he  held  out  the  olive  branch  by  inviting 
Sir  William  to  dinner,  the  invitation  was  re- 
fused ;  and  I  happened  to  know  that  the  refusal 
was  due  altogether  to  "sulk."  In  the  days  when 
people  dined  at  a  reasonable  hour,  a  pet  child 
often  came  in  to  dessert,  and  got  a  seat  at  the 
head  of  the  table.  And  at  that  stage  of  the 
dinner  in  question,  Sir  William  Harcourt  ap- 
peared, and  a  place  was  made  for  him  beside 
the  host.  He  had  "  got  free  sooner  than  he 
expected,"  he  said,  in  his  most  genial  manner, 
and  "  he  could  not  lose  the  pleasure,  etc.,  etc."  I 
believe  there  were  only  two  other  guests  at  the 
table  who  knew  that  this  was  a  charming  "  fib," 
intended  to  cover  a  frank  acknowledgment  that 
he  had  acted  churlishly  in  refusing  the  invitation. 
Who  but  Sir  William  Harcourt  would  have  had 
both  the  courage  and  the  generosity  to  act  thus  ? 
Though  the  subject  will  come  up  again  later, 
I  may  say  here  that  the  debates  in  Parliament 
bore  no  relation  to  the  facts  of  Le  Caron's 
position  and  work.  My  Times  letter  was  designed 
to  bring  some  of  them  to  Sir  AVilliam  Harcourt 's 
recollection.  As  for  the  Secretary  of  State,  he 
knew  nothing  about  them  ;  for  he  never  even 
sent  across  the  street  for  me,  to  hear  what  I  had 
to  say  on  the  subject.  The  only  foundation  for 
the  pleasing  fiction  by  which  he  amused  the 
House — that  Le  Caron  was  a  personal  friend  of 


ii]  LE  CARON'S  POSITION  25 

mine — was  that,  during  all  my  official  life,  every 
man  who  served  me  faithfully  learned  to  regard 
me  as  his  friend.  And  of  Le  Caron  I  formed  a 
very  high  opinion  indeed.  He  was  a  man  of 
sterling  integrity  and  honour.  Many  people  are 
truthful,  and  some  are  accurate,  but  I  have 
seldom  met  any  one  who  excelled  him  in  these 
respects.  He  was  not  an  "  informer."  It  was 
an  almost  quixotic  desire  to  serve  his  country 
that  led  him  to  enter  on  the  task  of  thwarting 
the  Fenian  conspiracy.  I  regarded  him  and  his 
work  in  the  same  light  in  which  I  regarded 
police  duty  at  Scotland  Yard,  and  the  able  and 
estimable  men  who  were  my  subordinates  there 
in  dealing  with  other  branches  of  crime. 

In  his  "  Life  of  Gladstone,"  Mr.  Morley  says 
that  Le  Caron  "  had  been  for  twenty-eight  years 
in  the  United  States,  and  for  more  than  twenty  of 
them  he  had  been  in  the  pay  of  Scotland  Yard." 
The  fact  is  that,  until  he  appeared  as  a  witness 
at  the  Special  Commission,  "  Scotland  Yard  " 
was  not  aware  of  his  existence.  And  during 
five,  at  least,  of  the  eventful  years  in  which  he 
kept  me  informed  of  the  doings  of  the  Fenian 
leaders,  his  letters  did  not  cost  the  Government 
even  the  price  of  the  postage  stamps  he  used  in 
sending  them  to  me.  Though  the  reward  given 
him  for  thwarting  the  second  Fenian  raid  on 
Canada  was  petty  in  comparison  with  the  value 
of  his  services,  it  was,  at  least,  substantial ;  but 

E 


26     SIR  WILLIAM  HARCOURT    [chap,  ii 

the  amount  of  money  he  received  in  other  years 
was  seldom  much  more  than  sufficed  to  com- 
pensate him  for  constant  interruption  of  his  work 
as  a  practising  doctor. 

Two  remarks  in  closing  this  chapter.  The 
sequel  will  show  that  a  full  and  complete  defence 
of  my  action  in  regard  to  Le  Caron's  letters 
might  have  been  embarrassing  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  still  more  embarrassing  to  the  ex- 
Ministers.  And  it  will  show  also  how  well 
founded  was  the  complaint  of  the  Times  in  the 
leading  article  of  which  the  opening  sentences 
have  been  quoted  here,*  that  the  Government 
gave  no  assistance  in  the  presentation  of  the 
case  submitted  to  the  Special  Commission.  I 
unreservedly  endorse  that  complaint.  I  have 
always  felt  that  in  this  respect  the  Government 
failed  in  its  duty,  not  only  to  the  Commission 
Court  but  to  the  public. 

*  See  p.  9,  ante. 


CHAPTER   III 


LOCAL    AND    PERSONAL 


"  Whom  have  I  the  honour  of  addressing  ?  "  is  a 
formula  with  which  we  are  familiar.  "  Who  is 
this  who  claims  the  honour  of  addressing  us  ?  "  is 
an  inquiry  the  public  may  reasonably  make  upon 
the  appearance  of  a  book  of  this  character.  To 
eliminate  the  personal  element  from  these  pages, 
therefore,  would  be  to  exclude  the  grounds  on 
which  I  venture  to  claim  a  hearing  on  the 
subjects  of  which  they  treat.  But  the  personal 
element  shall  be  made  entirely  subordinate  to 
their  main  purpose. 

I  hope,  without  waiting  for  the  salmon-fishing 
and  "  anecdotage  "  stage  of  life,  to  write  a  book 
in  another  vein,  giving  something  of  my  experi- 
ences in  the  Secret  Service  and  at  Scotland 
Yard.  But  a  few  more  years  must  pass,  and 
men  too,  perhaps,  before  I  can  throw  off  all 
restraint  in  writing  on  such  subjects.  What  I 
have  to  say  here  and  now,  however,  may  be  said 
without  impropriety  or  breach  of  faith. 

I  was   born    and   brought  up — well,  as   the 


28  LOCAL  AND  PERSONAL     [chap. 

French  phrase  has  it,  "  that  goes  without  say- 
ing ; "  and  I  am  not  vain  enough  to  suppose  that 
the  particulars  are  of  interest  to  any  one.  This 
much,  however,  may  be  opportune  :  When  an 
alien  is  naturalised  in  England  he  becomes  an 
English  citizen  ;  and  as  a  good  many  generations 
have  passed  since  my  Scottish  "forebears"  settled 
in  Ireland,  and  that  country  was  my  home  during 
the  first  twenty-seven  years  of  my  life,  I  always 
supposed  I  was  Irish,  until  the  Home  Rule 
movement  enlightened  me.  For  no  one  is  Irish 
nowadays  who  has  not  "  national  aspirations  " 
verging  on  sedition ;  or  in  other  words,  who 
refuses  to  join  in  an  agitation  designed  to  reduce 
Ireland  to  the  level  of  a  dependent  province,  and 
to  rob  her  of  the  proud  place  she  shares  with 
Great  Britain  in  the  government  of  the  Empire. 
At  all  events,  I  was  an  Irish  barrister  until  the 
events  of  which  I  have  to  speak  drew  me  away 
from  the  practice  of  the  profession  of  my  choice. 
If  1  make  a  passing  reference  to  my  college 
days,  it  is  because  of  experiences  which  have 
some  bearing  on  a  pending  controversy  of  great 
public  interest.  AVhen  I  entered  Trinity 
College,  Dublin,  as  a  Presbyterian,  every 
member  of  the  governing  body,  and  all  the 
Fellows  and  Professors,  belonged  to  the  Estab- 
lished Church.  And  at  that  time  a  narrowness 
and  bigotry  little  known  on  this  side  of  the 
Channel,  marked  the  Evangelicals  of  the   Irish 


in]     TRINITY  COLLEGE,  DUBLIN      29 

Church.  But  though  this  spirit  was  rife  outside 
the  walls  of  Trinity  College,  within  them  it 
was  unknown.  Whether  in  regard  to  my 
dealings  with  the  "  Dons "  or  with  my  fellow 
students,  I  cannot  recall  a  single  occasion  or 
incident  to  lead  me  to  qualify  this  statement. 

And  during  my  years  of  office  in  the  College 
Historical  Society — full  sister  of  the  Union 
Societies  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge — I  was 
brought  a  good  deal  into  touch  with  the  "  Dons." 
During  my  term  as  Auditor  (or  President)  of 
the  Society  I  personally  canvassed  the  members 
of  the  governing  body  of  the  University,  to 
obtain  their  consent  to  a  scheme  of  life  member- 
ship, which  they  had  till  then  refused  to  sanction. 
But  neither  in  my  communications  with  them, 
nor  with  my  fellow  members  of  the  Historical 
Society,  was  the  question  of  my  religion  of  more 
account  than  whether  I  drank  tea  or  coffee 
for  breakfast.  Among  the  undergraduates,  of 
course,  religious  questions  were  sometimes  dis- 
cussed as  freely  as  the  political  and  social 
problems  to  which  the  history  of  Ireland  gives 
prominence.  But  we  met  on  perfectly  even 
terms,  and  learned  not  only  to  hear,  but  to 
respect,  opinions  and  convictions  which  we  did 
not  share.  Thought  was  free  and  sympathies 
were  generous. 

This,  however,  is  precisely  the  element  of 
college    life  which   the    Irish   Roman    Catholic 


30  LOCAL  AND  PERSONAL     [chap. 

bishops  refuse  to  tolerate.  There  is  not,  I 
understand,  so  much  as  one  of  their  number 
who  was  ever  at  a  university,  and  therefore  they 
do  not  see  the  grotesque  absurdity  of  supposing 
that  if  this  element  be  eliminated,  "  the  benefits 
of  a  university  education "  can  be  enjoyed 
Apart  from  the  "  hall  mark  "  of  its  degrees,  the 
only  distinctive  "  benefits "  which  a  university 
can  confer,  fall  under  either  of  two  heads.  Pro- 
vided it  has  prestige  and  wealth,  it  can  secure 
teachers  of  the  highest  eminence  in  every  depart- 
ment of  science  and  learning.  13 ut  this  is  of 
practical  importance  only  to  a  minority.  The 
ordinary  pass-men,  who  always  constitute  the 
great  majority  of  students,  are  incapable  of 
benefiting  by  such  high-class  teaching.  And 
for  them  the  "  benefits  of  a  university  educa- 
tion "  are  chiefly  of  another  kind.  For  education, 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  is  not  mere 
acquaintance  with  facts  and  the  contents  of 
books  ;  it  involves  that  sort  of  habit  of  mind, 
and  that  moulding  of  character,  which  can  only 
be  acquired  by  contact  with  men.  And  if  this 
essential  element  in  education  be  left  out  of 
account,  five  men  out  of  every  six  who  graduate 
at  our  universities  might  receive  as  good  an 
"  education"  from  private  tutors,  or,  indeed,  from 
competent  governesses. 

In  the  moral  government  of  the  world,  men 
reap   what  they  sow.     And   it  is  owing  to  the 


in]      INFLUENCE  OF  MAYNOOTH       31 

influence  of  Maynooth,  as  endowed  by  England 
in  the  teeth  of  both  principle  and  policy,*  that 
the  Irish  question  of  to-day  seems  insoluble. 
The  historian  will  hereafter  point  to  the  rise  and 
growth  of  theological  colleges  as  the  cause  of  the 
bitterness  which  to-day  inflames  the  education 
controversy  between  the  Protestant  Churches 
in  England.  But  we  do  not  need  to  wait  for 
historians  to  tell  us  of  the  mischief  that  Maynooth 
has  caused  in  Ireland.  By  none  is  its  influence 
more  deplored  than  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
gentry.  Before  Maynooth  was  founded,  most 
of  the  higher  clergy  of  the  Irish  Roman  Catholic 
Church  were  educated  in  England  or  France. 
They  were,  in  the  good  sense  of  the  term,  "  men 
of  the  world."  In  my  boyhood,  for  example, 
the  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Dublin  was 
a  near  neighbour  of  ours,  and  though  my  father 
was  a  red-hot  Protestant  of  the  Ulster  type,  he 
counted  Dr.  Murray  among  his  friends,  and  I 
never  heard  him  speak  of  him  save  in  terms  of 
respect  and  regard,  as  being  a  cultured  Christian 
gentleman.  But  nowadays — well,  there  are  some 
things  better  left  unsaid. 

I  am  always  on  the  alert  to  obtain  information 

*  The  Roman  Catholic  College  of  Maynooth  was  established  by 
the  Irish  Parliament  in  1795.  In  the  year  1846,  Sir  Robert  Peel 
obtained  an  Act  of  Parliament  under  which  it  received  a  grant  of 
£30,000  for  building  purposes,  and  a  permanent  endowment  of 
£26,000  a  year.  This  annual  subsidy  was  commuted  when  the  Irish 
Church  was  disestablished. 


8-2  LOCAL  AND  PERSONAL     [chap. 

about  theological  colleges.  Their  special  function 
seems  to  be  to  train  men  to  study  not  only 
the  Bible,  but  all  ecclesiastical  and  religious 
questions,  through  coloured  spectacles.  They 
thus  tend  to  counteract  "  the  benefits  of  a  uni- 
versity education,"  which,  here  in  England,  the 
students  of  very  many  of  them  have  already 
enjoyed.  But  in  Maynooth  everything  in  heaven 
and  earth  is  viewed  through  coloured  spectacles. 
What  can  be  expected  of  men  who  have  been 
placed  in  seclusion  at  an  age  when  boys  usually 
go  to  a  public  school,  and  who,  for  six,  seven,  or 
eight  years,  have  been  deprived  of  almost  every 
influence  that  fits  a  man  for  life  in  the  world — 
the  very  years,  moreover,  in  which  character  is 
formed,  and  the  mind  is  either  developed  or 
permanently  narrowed  and  warped.  These 
wretched  victims  of  priestly  training  are  never 
allowed  to  see  even  the  ordinary  newspapers  or 
periodicals ;  and  if,  during  their  brief  summer 
holiday  at  home,  they  read  any  but  a  priest- 
approved  book  of  history  or  philosophy,  their 
sin  is  brought  to  light  in  the  confessional  and 
severely  punished.  Not  only  at  meals,  but  even 
in  the  playfields  they  are  generally  required  to 
talk  in  Latin.*  And  at  the  last,  with  minds 
thus  dwarfed  and  hearts  cramped,  and  too  often 

*  "Do  you  mean,"  I  remember  asking  one  of  them,  "that  you 
have  Latin  for  losing  your  It;.'   stump  al  cricket?"      "Ye       he 

replied    with  a  laugh;    "hut  T  don't   think  Cicero   would   under- 
stand it." 


in]     NOT  A  QUESTION  OF  CREED     33 

also  crippled  in  health — for  the  fasts  imposed  on 
these  growing  lads  are  in  part  responsible  for  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  college  cemetery  is  filling 
up — they  are  turned  out  as  priests,  to  impose 
their  will  upon  the  unfortunate  laity  of  Ireland. 

A  Roman  Catholic  College  for  the  training 
of  priests  has  been  established  in  Cambridge, 
and  its  students  are  required  to  attend  University 
lectures,  and  encouraged  to  mix  with  other  men 
in  the  colleges  and  clubs ;  for  English  Roman 
Catholics  know  the  value  of  such  advantages. 
And  if  the  Maynooth-trained  bishops  will  not 
tolerate  a  similar  arrangement  in  Ireland,  even 
for  the  laity,  it  is  because  the  whole  spirit  of 
Romanism  in  that  country  is  ultramontane  and 
retrograde.  And  their  aim  in  demanding  a 
Roman  Catholic  University  is  to  bring  under 
priestly  rule  the  only  class  of  their  co-religionists 
that  still  maintains  a  moderate  share  of  inde- 
pendence.* 

With  me,  at  least,  this  is  not  a  question  of 
Protestantism  versus  Romanism.  While  in 
Trinity  College  my  personal  friends  among  the 
Roman  Catholic  students  were  more  numerous 
than  among  men  of  my  own  Church.  I  have 
learned  to  live  at  peace  with  my  neighbours, 
and  I  can  respect  a  sincere  Roman  Catholic. 
My  Protestantism  has  to  do  with  principles 
rather  than  with  men.     But  my  experience  of 

*  On  this  subject  see  further  at  p.  189,  post. 

F 


34  LOCAL  AND  PERSONAL     [chap. 

Ireland  confirms  the  teaching  of  history,  that 
priest-rule  is  incompatible  with  the  peace  of  a 
home  or  the  prosperity  of  a  nation. 

I  was  much  struck  by  a  statement  which 
appeared  some  time  since  in  the  newspapers 
about  the  influence  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
pastors  in  South  Africa.  The  writer,  "  An  old 
Free  State  Burgher,"  tells  how,  before  the  war, 
these  men  were  supreme.  "  Social  life  was 
formed  and  ruled  by  them,"  and  "no  book  or 
paper  was  allowed  in  the  house  until  '  Mynheer* 
was  consulted,"  and  so  on.     And  he  adds — 

"  More  than  half  our  troubles  in  political, 
social,  and  commercial  life  have  been  caused, 
and  are  now  more  than  ever  caused,  by  these 
men  fighting  to  regain  their  lost  power  and 
using  any  weapon  to  hand.  Of  course,  the 
minister  says  he  represents  expressed  public- 
feeling.  So  he  does ;  but  it  is  the  expression 
of  a  muzzled  public,  the  individuals  of  which 
know  from  experience  that  to  differ  from 
'Mynheer'  causes  certain  household  quarrels, 
and  probably  a  boycott,  and  so  what  '  Mynheer ' 
says  is  'Ja  and  Amen.'  Knowing  the  great 
power  they  had  in  my  own  youth,  and  seeing 
how  that  power  has  waned,  I  do  not  wonder 
at  their  attempt  to  regain  it ;  but  I  do  wonder, 
and  am  disgusted  that  they  should  make  the 
attempt  under  the  guise  of  patriotism." 

And  the  writer  concludes  by  speaking  of 
"the  ex-Boer  officer  class,"  which,  having  tasted 


in]    A  SOUTH  AFRICAN  PARALLEL  35 

the  sweets  of  power  and  of  flattery,  "  now  find 
it  impossible  to  return  to  the  drudgery  of  their 
former  life  as  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  so  lend 
themselves  to  anything  that  will  ensure  for 
a  time  an  easy,  lazy,  vagabond  life  among 
strangers." 

Change  the  terms,  and  this  describes  exactly 
the  Irish  problem.  For  "  South  Africa  "  read 
"  Ireland,"  for  the  "  Protestant  preachers  "  read 
the  "  Roman  Catholic  priests,"  and  for  the  "  Boer 
ex-officer  "  read  the  "  Nationalist  agitator,"  and 
the  parallel  is  perfect.  The  South  African  autho- 
rities will  not  truckle  to  this  baneful  influence ; 
but  no  one  may  venture  to  gauge  the  depths  of 
folly  to  which  an  English  Government  may  sink 
in  the  case  of  Ireland.  Every  educated  Irishman, 
whether  he  be  Roman  Catholic  or  Protestant, 
knows  well  that  all  hope  of  peace  and  prosperit) 
in  that  country  depends  on  promoting  a  spirit 
of  mutual  respect  and  forbearance  among 
members  of  the  different  creeds.  Trinity  College 
exercises  a  most  useful  influence  in  this  regard, 
and  the  demand  for  a  Roman  Catholic  Uni- 
versity has  its  origin  in  the  desire  of  the  priests 
to  counteract  that  influence.  In  the  judgment 
of  Irish  priests,  every  institution  and  every  indi- 
vidual is  Protestant  that  does  not  own  allegiance 
to  the  Pope  and  his  Church — in  other  words, 
that  is  not  Roman  Catholic.  In  this  sense  alone 
it  is  that  the  University  of  Dublin  is  Protestant. 


CHAPTER     TV 

ANCIENT    HISTORY 

My  special  knowledge  of  the  Fenian  move- 
ment dates  from  the  State  Trials  of  18G.5.  Not 
that  I  was  professionally  engaged  to  those 
prosecutions  ;  my  standing  at  the  Bar  was  too 
junior  to  make  that  possible.  But  my  father, 
the  Crown  Solicitor,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Law  Officers,  deputed  the  duties  of  his  office  to 
my  brother,  the  late  Sir  Samuel  Lee  Anderson  ; 
and  never  was  there  between  brothers  a  closer 
friendship,  or  more  unrestricted  confidence,  than 
between  him  and  me.  And  thus  it  came  about 
that  not  only  were  the  Crown  briefs  at  my 
disposal,  but  also  the  confidential  reports  and 
secret  information  which  had  led  the  Govern- 
ment to  arrest  the  leaders  of  the  conspiracy. 

This  was  known  to  Sir  Thomas  Larcom,  the 
permanent  Under  Secretary  at  the  Castle  ;  and 
so,  when,  after  the  change  of  Government  in 
18G(J,    Lord   Mayo*   sought    for    some   one    to 

*  Then  Lord  Naas,  but  I  here  use  the  title  to  which  he  succeeded 
iu  August,  1807,  and  by  which  he  is  now  generally  known. 


chap,  iv  ]  MY  WORK  FOR  LORD  MAYO  37 

whom  he  might  entrust  a  task  of  an  exception- 
ally confidential  kind,  my  name  was  put  before 
him. 

Though  dangerous  conspiracies  had  been  rife 
in  Ireland  for  years,  there  existed  no  Secret 
Service  organization  or  Intelligence  Department 
of  any  kind  at  Dublin  Castle.  Our  minister  at 
Washington,  and  some  of  our  consuls  in  the 
United  States,  obtained  much  valuable  informa- 
tion about  the  rise  and  progress  of  Fenianism  ; 
and  their  despatches  were  communicated  to  the 
Irish  Government.  But  these  despatches  were 
deemed  so  secret  that  they  were  put  away  without 
even  being  "  registered  "  in  the  Chief  Secretary's 
Office.  And  specially  confidential  reports  from 
the  Irish  magistracy  and  police  were  treated  in 
the  same  manner.  When,  therefore,  the  new 
Chief  Secretary  sought  information  respecting 
the  history  of  the  conspiracy,  the  task  which 
confronted  him  was  to  master  the  contents  of 
a  cupboard  in  which  all  these  documents  lay 
heaped  in  an  undigested  mass.  The  duty  he 
entrusted  to  me  was  to  prepare  a,  precis  of  these 
secret  papers,  and  of  the  other  official  archives 
relating  to  Fenianism.  This  work  was  most 
interesting  ;  and  after  completing  the  precis,  I 
used  it  as  material  for  a  historical  narrative  of 
the  origin  and  proceedings  of  the  conspiracy. 

It  is  all  ancient  history  now.     But  if  what  1 
have  to  say  is  to  be  of  value,  history  still  more 


38  ANCIENT  HISTORY  [chap 

ancient  must  be  put  right  before  I  proceed. 
For  the  densest  ignorance  prevails  with  regard 
to  Ireland.  "  The  English  and  Scotch  people 
are  as  ignorant  of  Irish  history  as  the  Chief 
Secretary  himself,"  Mr.  Morlcy  exclaimed  in 
one  of  his  political  speeches  during  Mr.  Balfour's 
reign  at  Dublin  Castle.  And  with  regard  to 
matters  of  principal  importance  in  relation  to 
the  Home  Rule  agitation,  the  Irish  chapters  in 
Mr.  Morley's  "Life  of  Gladstone"  will  give 
them  no  enlightenment.  His  pages,  indeed,  will 
only  serve  to  deepen  the  delusion  which  prevails 
among  the  educated  classes,  that  it  was  the 
Union  that  created  the  need  of  a  policy  of 
"  coercion." 

Never  was  belief  more  utterly  false.  From 
the  time  when  the  patriarch  Noah's  adventurous 
niece  sought  on  the  virgin  soil  of  Ireland  a 
refuge  from  the  judgment  of  the  Flood,  down 
through  all  the  ages  of  its  legendary  and  its 
actual  history,  the  story  is  a  wearisome  record 
of  trouble,  disaster,  and  bloodshed.  Not  but  that 
there  were  brilliant  epochs  connected  with  the 
career  of  one  and  another  of  the  genuine  heroes 
whom  that  country  has  produced.  Rut  peace 
never  made  her  home  there,  and  capacity  for 
government  was  never  developed.  Even  Strong- 
bow's  invasion  was  instigated  by  an  Irish  king, 
who,  after  a  long  and  bloody  feud,  sought  thus 
to   avenge   himself   upon    his    successful    rival. 


iv]  STRONGBOWS  INVASION  39 

"  Strong-bow's  invasion,"  I  say  ;  for  the  figment 
that  it  was  an  English  conquest  of  Ireland  is 
one  of  the  bHisesoi  what  passes  for  Irish  history. 
The  raiders  were  the  soldiers  of  a  French  King 
of  England,  who,  by  the  suppression  of  the 
power  of  the  barons,  had  just  completed  the 
conquest  of  the  English,  which  his  ancestor, 
William  of  Normandy,  had  begun.  The  main 
English  element  in  the  business  was  that  Pope 
Adrian  IV.,  who  issued  the  Bull  directing  and 
blessing  the  invasion,  was  an  Englishman. 

The  language  of  that  Papal  Bull  may  well 
give  thought  to  those  who  believe  that  "the 
most  Holy  Roman  Church "  can  never  err. 
Here  is  an  extract  from  it — 

"  There  is  no  doubt,  and  your  nobility  ac- 
knowledges, that  Ireland  and  all  islands  upon 
which  Christ,  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  has 
shone,  and  which  have  received  the  teaching  of 
the  Christian  faith,  rightly  belong  to  the  blessed 
Peter  and  the  most  Holy  Roman  Church." 

The  facts  are  accessible  to  all  in  the  pages 
of  a  work  at  once  so  popular  and  so  erudite  as 
the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica."  And  so  dense 
is  the  ignorance  that  prevails  respecting  them, 
that  the  following  further  extract  from  those 
same  pages  may  not  be  inappropriate  : — 

"In  1156  Dermod  MacMurrough,  deposed 
for  his  tyranny  from  the  Kingdom  of  Leinster, 


40  ANCIENT  HISTORY  [chap. 

repaired  to  Henry  in  Aquitaine.  The  king  was 
busy  with  the  French,  but  gladly  seized  the 
opportunity  of  asserting  his  claim,  and  gave 
Dermod  a  letter  authorizing  him  to  raise  forces 
in  England.  Thus  armed  and  provided  with 
gold  extorted  from  his  former  subjects  in 
Leinster,  Dermod  went  to  Bristol  and  sought 
the  acquaintance  of  Richard  de  Clare,  a  Norman 
noble  of  great  ability  but  broken  fortunes.  Earl 
Richard,  whom  late  usage  has  named  Strong- 
bow,  agreed  to  reconquer  Dermod's  kingdom  for 
him." 

Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  Strongbow  invaded 
the  "  distressful  country."  Henry  himself  landed 
in  1172,  having  had  Adrian's  grant  confirmed 
to  him  by  his  successor  Alexander  III.,  the 
Pope  by  whom  Thomas-a-Becket  was  canonised. 
The  so-called  "  English  conquest  of  Ireland  " 
was  thus  a  conquest  by  a  French  king  and  his 
retainers — the  sequel  and  completion  of  the 
Norman  conquest  of  England — carried  out  with 
the  sanction  and  blessing  of  two  successive 
occupants  of  the  Papal  throne. 

Next  in  historic  order,  the  cruelties  of  Crom- 
well's reeonquest  of  Ireland,  and  the  Penal  Laws 
of  the  Protestant  Parliament  of  William  III., 
are  the  stock-in-trade  of  the  Nationalist  agitators. 
They  ignore  the  fact  that  Cromwell's  mission 
was  to  punish  a  rebellion  marked  by  atrocities 
and  horrors  of  which  the  Indian  mutin)   affords 


iv]  THE  PENAL  LAWS  41 

the  only  parallel  in  our  national  story.  The 
following  is  taken  from  Hume's  aecount  of  the 
massacre  of  the  Irish  Protestants  in  1G41 — 

"  Death  was  the  lightest  punishment  in- 
flicted by  the  rebels.  All  the  tortures  which 
wanton  cruelty  could  devise,  all  the  lingering 
pains  of  body,  the  anguish  of  mind,  the  agonies 
of  despair,  could  not  satiate  revenge  excited 
without  injury,  and  cruelty  derived  from  no 
cause.  To  enter  into  particulars  would  shock 
the  least  delicate  humanity." 

And  as  for  the  Penal  Laws,  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  they,  too,  were  the  sequel  and 
consequence  of  infamous  plots  to  give  up  the 
Protestants  of  Ireland  again  to  destruction.* 
Without  posing  as  apologists  for  any  of  these 
measures,  we  ought  to  be  able  in  this  twentieth 
century  to  consider  them  dispassionately.  I 
shall  have  something  to  say  later  on  about  the 
far    more    wanton    measures    by    which     Irish 


*  And  once  their  purpose  was  achieved,  the  Penal  Laws  were 
administered  in  such  an  easy-going  Irish  fashion  as  largely  to 
mitigate  their  severity.  My  friend,  R.  J.  Mahony,  of  Dromore 
Castle,  used  to  narrate  a  characteristic  instance  of  this.  Any  Pro- 
testant— a  near  relative  always  preferred — could  roh  a  Roman 
Catholic  of  his  landed  property  hy  filing  a  "Bill  of  Discovery" 
against  him.  His  Roman  Catholic  ancestor  filed  such  a  Bill  of 
Discovery  against  himself,  and  the  Dromore  estate  was  hy  law  trans- 
ferred from  D.  Mahony,  a  Papist,  to  D.  Mahony,  a  Protestant.  He 
then  filed  Bills  of  Discovery  against  his  friends  throughout  the 
county,  O'Donoghue,  O'Connell,  etc.,  etc.,  and  held  their  properties 
for  them  till  the  Penal  Laws  were  repealed.  The  trick  was  a 
transparent  one,  but  it  was  connived  at. 

G 


42  ANCIENT  HISTORY  [chap. 

industries  were  systematically  ruined,  and  the 
country  kept  in  a  condition  of  chronic  pauperism. 

But  to  come  back  to  later  times,  the  vast 
majority  of  British  electors  who  vote  for  Home 
Rule  candidates  for  Parliament  believe  that 
when  Ireland  actually  possessed  Home  Rule 
the  country  was  peaceful  and  prosperous  and 
happy.  What  are  the  facts  ?  It  is  said  that 
during  the  eighteen  years  of  "  Grattan's  Parlia- 
ment," fifty-four  "  Coercion  Acts  "  were  placed 
upon  the  College  Green  Statute-book.  The 
country  was  going  from  bad  to  worse.  Its 
condition  was  not  only  a  national  scandal,  but 
a  national  danger  to  England.  In  the  summer 
of  1795  a  rebellion  as  terrible  as  that  of  1G41 
appeared  to  be  imminent.  Half  a  million  of 
the  population  were  believed  to  have  been 
enrolled  in  the  secret  societies,  and  an  outbreak 
on  August  29  was  averted  only  by  treason  in 
the  rebel  camp.  The  insurrection  was  thus 
prevented,  but  the  energies  which  had  gathered 
for  it  spent  themselves  in  outrages  upon  all 
who  sought  to  enforce  the  law  or  to  preserve 
the  peace.  "  A  reign  of  terror "  prevailed 
throughout  the  winter  months. 

The  first  duty  of  the  Irish  Parliament, 
therefore,  in  the  session  of  179G,  was  to  pass 
an  Insurrection  Act.  Here  are  some  of  its 
provisions.  Administering  unlawful  oaths  was 
made    a     capital     offence.     Strangers     in     any 


iv]         THE  IRISH  PARLIAMENT  43 

district  might  be  arrested,  examined  on  oath, 
and  committed  to  gaol  in  default  of  finding 
sureties.  In  districts  proclaimed  by  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  under  the  Act,  any  person  out  of 
doors  between  an  hour  after  sunset  and  sun- 
rise was  liable  to  be  arrested  and  sent  to  serve 
in  the  navy.  And  justices  had  power  to  enter 
any  house  to  ascertain  whether  the  inhabitants 
were  absent.  Any  one  proved  to  be  without 
employment  or  means  of  subsistence,  and  any 
one  obstructing  the  execution  of  the  Act,  might 
be  dealt  with  as  a  disorderly  person  and  sent 
to  the  navy.* 

But  this  measure,  so  drastic  in  its  severity, 
and  further  strengthened  by  a  rigorous  Arms 
Act,  did  not  suffice  to  prevent  the  outbreak 
of  two  years  later.  The  historic  "Rebellion 
of  '98  "  called  for  coercive  legislation  still  more 
stringent.  The  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  was 
suspended,  and  the  "  Rebellion  Act,  1799,"  prac- 
tically gave  power  to  the  Executive  to  put  the 
country  under  martial  law.  In  addition  to  all 
this,  the  "  Whiteboy  Act,"  till  then  a  temporary 
measure,  was  made  perpetual. 

Such  was  the  code  of  coercion  laws  which 
the  Irish  Parliament  bequeathed  to  West- 
minster. If  the  success  or  failure  of  govern- 
ment is  to  be  judged  by  the  necessity  for  such 

*  By  a  later  Act  (39  Geo.  III.  c.  36,  s.  55)  such  persons  mi#ht  be 
transferred  to  the  army  or  navy  of  any  friendly  European  power. 


44  ANCIENT  HISTORY  [chap. 

legislation,    the    Imperial    Parliament  need   not 
shrink  from  the  test  of  comparison. 

In  concluding  this  "ancient  history  " chapter, 
I  commend  to  the  attention  of  the  British 
electorate  the  following  extract  from  a  speech 
delivered  by  the  Irish  Chancellor,  Lord  Clare, 
on  February  10,  1S00,  descriptive  of  the  state 
of  Ireland  at  the  time  of  the  Union  : — 

"  I  will  now  appeal  to  every  dispassionate 
man  who  hears  me,  whether  I  have  in  anything 
misstated  or  exaggerated  the  calamitous  situa- 
tion of  my  country,  or  the  coalition  of  vice 
and  folly  which  has  long  undermined  her  happi- 
ness, and  at  this  hour  loudly  threatens  her 
existence.  It  is  gravely  inculcated,  I  know, 
'  Let  the  British  Minister  leave  us  to  ourselves, 
and  we  are  very  well  as  we  are.'  '  We  are  very 
well  as  we  are.'  Gracious  God !  of  what 
materials  must  the  heart  of  that  man  be  com- 
posed, who  knows  the  state  of  the  country 
and  will  coldly  tell  us  '  we  are  very  well  as 
we  are '  ?  '  AVe  are  very  well  as  we  are ! ' 
We  have  not  three  years'  redemption  from 
bankruptcy  or  intolerable  taxation,  nor  one 
hour's  security  against  the  renewal  of  extermi- 
nating civil  war.  '  We  are  very  well  as  we  are.' 
Look  to  your  statute-book — session  after  session 
have  you  been  compelled  to  enact  laws  of 
unexampled  rigour  and  novelty  to  repress  the 
horrible  excesses  of  the  mass  of  your  people  ; 
and  the  fury  of  murder  and  pillage  and  desola- 
tion  have   so    outrun    all    legislative    exertion, 


iv]       STATE  OF  IRELAND  IN  1800      45 

that   you    have   been   at   length    driven   to   the 
necessity     of     breaking      down     the     pale     of 
municipal     law,     and     putting      your     country 
under    the   ban    of   military   government ;    and 
in    every    little    circle    of    dignity    and    inde- 
pendence  we   hear   whispers   of    discontent    at 
the  temperate   discretion  with  which  it  is   ad- 
ministered.    '  We    are   very   well    as   we    are.' 
Look  at  the  old  revolutionary  Government  of 
the  Irish  Union,  and  the  modern  revolutionary 
Government  of  the  Irish  consulate,  canvassing 
the  dregs  of  the  rebel  democracy  for  a  renewal 
of  popular   ferment   and   outrage   to  overcome 
the  deliberations  of  Parliament.     '  We  are  very 
well    as    we    are.'     Look    to    your    civil    and 
religious    dissensions  —  look    to     the     fury    of 
political   faction,    and    the   torrents    of    human 
blood  that  stain  the  face  of  your  country.     And 
of  what  material  is  the  man  composed  who  will 
not   listen  with   patience   and   goodwill   to  any 
proposition  that  can  be  made  to  him  for  com- 
posing the  distractions  and  healing  the  wounds, 
and   alleviating    the    miseries    of    this    devoted 
nation  ?     '  We  are  very  well  as  we  are.'     Look 
to  your  finances,  and,   I   repeat,  you  have  not 
redemption  for  three   years   from  public  bank- 
ruptcy,  or   a   burthen   of    taxation   which   will 
sink     every    gentleman     of    property     in     the 
country." 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    FENIAN    MOVEMENT 

During  the  half-century  preceding  the  famine 
the  state  of  Ireland  made  prosperity  impossible. 
No  Government  that  the  world  has  ever  known 
could  have  averted  disaster.  The  population 
doubled ;  and,  the  potato  being  as  prolific  as 
the  people,  a  couple  of  acres  of  land  sufficed 
to  enable  a  cottier  to  support  his  family  in 
idleness.  Such  a  state  of  things  was  quite 
millennial,  according  to  the  Irish  ideal ;  but 
the  "  Millennium "  was  brief,  and  the  potato 
blight  brought  a  terrible  Nemesis. 

In  1847  nearly  three  millions  of  the  population 
were  in  receipt  of  aid  from  the  public  treasury. 
And  yet,  notwithstanding  the  appalling  con- 
dition of  the  peasantry,  the  greater  part  of  the 
country  was  peaceful,  and  life  and  property 
were  safe.  But  with  that  blind  stupidity,  that 
almost  criminal  folly,  which  so  often  charac- 
terises the  acts  of  English  Ministers  toward 
Ireland,  this  was  the  epoch  chosen  by  Lord 
John  Russell's  Government  to  part  with  the 
Anns  Act,  which  had  been  in  force  ever  since 


chap,  v]  1847  AND  1848  47 

the  Revolution.  The  consequences  were  dis- 
astrous. "  In  the  midst  of  the  most  horrible 
starvation,  a  universal  mania  arose  for  the 
possession  of  firearms."  So  great  was  the 
demand,  that  it  was  said  to  have  revived  the 
gun  trade  in  Birmingham.  In  many  cases 
arms  were  paid  for  with  money  received  from 
the  public  relief  works.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  there  was  a  serious  outbreak  of  crime. 

Special  legislation  followed,  of  course.  Tem- 
porary repressive  laws  of  much  severity,  framed 
on  the  model  of  the  Irish  Statutes,  had  been 
passed  in  1814,  1822,  1833 ;  but  Sir  George 
Grey's  "  Crime  and  Outrage  Act "  of  1847 
was  so  mild  in  comparison  that  it  scarcely 
deserved  the  name  of  a  Coercion  Act.  To 
its  operation,  however,  was  largely  due  the 
failure  of  the  "rebellion"  of  1848.  Though 
that  movement  was  a  fiasco,  it  called  for  another 
Habeas  Corpus  Suspension  Act.  And  in  order 
to  check  the  pestilent  activity  of  the  Ribbon 
Lodges,  the  provisions  of  the  Crime  and  Outrage 
Act  were  renewed  from  time  to  time.  But 
with  the  collapse  of  Smith  O'Brien's  conspiracy, 
the  country  soon  became  settled,  and  the  year 
1850  introduced  a  decade  of  tranquillity  and 
prosperity  unprecedented  in  the  history  of 
Ireland.  As  Mr.  Gladstone  said  in  his  great 
Leeds  speech  of  October,  1881,  no  labouring 
population  in   Europe   made   such   progress   as 


48         THE  FENIAN  MOVEMENT   [chap. 

the  Irish  during  that  period.  If  during  those 
halcyon  days  a  liberal  Land  Act,  and  (as  Isaac 
Butt  afterwards  suggested)  a  permanent  Peace 
Preservation  Act,  had  been  added  to  the  statute- 
book,  the  "  Irish  Question  "  might  have  been 
settled  for  ever. 

The  Penal  Laws  and  the  mis-government 
of  bygone  generations  are  generally  supposed 
to  account  for  the  present  condition  of  Ireland. 
Sunspots  and  weather  have  vastly  more  to  do 
with  it.  It  is  to  the  mis-government  of  our 
own  times  that  we  must  look  to  account  for 
the  problem.  What  I  have  said  about  May- 
nooth  may  be  disputed  by  many.  But  what 
I  am  about  to  say  here  will  be  endorsed  by 
every  Irishman  who  has  passed  middle  age. 
I  have  spoken  of  the  sham  "  millennium  "  of 
the  period  preceding  the  famine,  and  of  the 
real  prosperity  of  the  decade  which  followed. 
But  then,  as  I  have  said,  another  evil  era  began. 
In  the  five  years  ending  with  18G5  mischief 
was  done  which  has  never  been  repaired  ; 
mischief  which  might  have  been  averted  by 
any  government  worthy  of  the  name. 

During  that  eventful  period,  "  Dublin 
Castle "  was  a  government  pour  rire.  The 
Viceroy  was  the  Earl  of  Carlisle,  a  kind-hearted 
and  cultured  man,  of  a  somewhat  grotesquely 
striking  presence,  but  with  no  other  qualification 
for  his  high  position.      He  was  much  in  evidence 


v]  THE  RISE  OF  FENIANISM  49 

on  festive  occasions,  made  elegant  little  speeches 
at  public  functions,  and  ogled  the  pretty  women. 
Not  that  he  was  a  roue;  he  was  only  a  fop. 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  the  Chief  Secretary,  though 
a  man  of  ability,  was  a  sort  of  political  Bo- 
hemian, who  regarded  his  sojourn  in  Ireland  as 
a  picnic,  and  meddled  but  little  with  the  work 
of  his  office.  And  the  Attorney-General  was  Mr. 
(afterwards  Lord)  O'Hagan,  a  man  of  much 
charm  and  culture,  but  with  no  capacity  for 
affairs. 

"  Who  governs  Ireland  ?  Larcom  and  the 
Police,"  was  one  of  the  popular  witticisms  of 
the  time.  Sir  Thomas  Larcom  was  a  man 
of  judgment  and  capacity;  but  the  Under-Secre- 
tary to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  is  not  competent 
to  institute  or  carry  out  a  policy.  And  while 
his  chiefs  were  amusing  themselves,  or  playing 
the  fool,  the  unfortunate  country  drifted  into  a 
conspiracy  which,  as  Lord  Kimberley  afterwards 
declared  in  Parliament,  "  after  much  considera- 
tion and  reflection,"  was  more  formidable  than 
any  Irish  movement  since  1798  ;  a  high-sounding 
phrase  which  really  meant  very  little.  "  That 
enormous  sack  of  gas  called  Fenianism  "  was 
John  Mitchell's  description  of  it. 

The  secret  history  of  the  conspiracy  lies 
before  me,  but  I  will  deal  with  it  only  in  so 
far  as  it  is  necessary  to  my  narrative.  Its  chief 
founders  were  the  notorious  James  Stephens — 

H 


50        THE  FENIAN  MOVEMENT    [chap. 

a  clerk  in  a  small  business  house  in  Kilkenny, — 
and  a  Tipperary  farmer  named  John  O'Mahony. 
Involved  in  the  revolutionary  fiasco  of  1848, 
they  were  among  the  fugitives  from  justice 
who  found  an  asylum  in  Paris.  And  there 
it  was  that  the  new  scheme  was  hatched.  Pro- 
fiting by  the  experience  of  past  failures,  they 
decided  that  the  new  movement  should  be 
secret  and  oath-bound,  and  that  "  the  Irish 
race  "  in  America  should  be  organized  to  provide 
the  sinews  of  war.  After  some  years  Stephens 
returned  to  Ireland,  and  O'Mahony  crossed  the 
Atlantic  to  carry  out  his  part  of  the  scheme. 
O'Mahony,  I  believe,  was  honest ;  just  the  sort 
of  man  who  might  have  been  won  by  concilia- 
tory and  just  measures.  But  Stephens  was  a 
vain,  self-seeking  impostor,  whom  any  com- 
petent government  would  have  either  bought 
or  suppressed. 

The  Phoenix  movement  in  Minister,  which 
was  the  first  outcome  of  Stephens'  work,  had 
but  little  vitality,  and  it  was  crushed  by  the 
arrest  of  some  of  its  leaders  in  1859.  Fenianism 
proper  dates  from  1860,  when  the  scattered 
fragments  of  the  Phoenix  Society  were  re- 
organized under  the  high-sounding  title  of  the 
Irish  Republican  Brotherhood,  known  in  all 
Fenian  documents  as  the  "  I.R.B."  It  made 
little  or  no  headway,  however.  The  farmers 
were  thinking  about  the  land,   and  the  priests 


v]         THE   McMANUS'   FUNERAL         51 

about  the  Church ;  and  even  among  the  lower 
classes  in  the  towns  it  neither  excited  enthusiasm 
nor  inspired  confidence.  A  public  display  was 
evidently  needed,  and  opportunity  for  this  was 
found  in  the  autumn  of  1861. 

Upon  the  death  of  Terence  Bellew  McManus, 
one  of  the  high  treason  convicts  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, an  American  deputation  conveyed  his  body 
to  Dublin,  and  a  great  public  funeral  was  accorded 
him.  The  event  is  important,  not  merely  because 
it  made  Fenianisin  popular,  but  because  it  led  to 
a  breach  between  the  conspirators  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  On  account  of  the  element  of 
secrecy  which  marked  the  movement,  Cardinal 
Cullen  refused  the  use  of  the  cathedral  for  the 
obsequies,  and  prohibited' his  clergy  from  taking- 
part  in  them.  But  this  seemed  in  no  way  to 
damp  the  popular  enthusiasm,  and  after  a  week's 
"  lying-in-state  "  in  the  Mechanics'  Institute,  the 
remains  were  followed  to  the  grave  by  a  pro- 
cession of  huge  proportions  (November  10, 1861). 

From  that  day  Fenian  ism  began  to  flourish. 
Members  were  enrolled  and  secretly  drilled,  arms 
were  smuggled  into  the  country  for  their  use, 
and  efforts  were  made  to  corrupt  the  military  in 
various  garrison  towns.  For  three  years  and  a 
half,  in  fact,  the  agents  and  emissaries  of  the 
conspiracy  were  allowed  to  carry  on  their  work 
almost  unchecked. 

Though    there    was    no   want    of    seditious 


52         THE  FENIAN  MOVEMENT    [chap. 

journalism  in  Ireland,  Stephens  decided  to 
found  a  weekly  newspaper  as  "  the  avowed 
and  accredited  organ  of  the  Brotherhood,"  and 
on  November  28,  18G3,  the  first  number  of 
the  Irish  People  appeared.  The  following 
extracts,  culled  from  some  of  its  brilliantly 
written  articles,  are  fair  samples  of  the  teaching 
by  which,  week  by  week,  the  people  were  incited 
to  revolution. 

"  By  force  of  arms  Ireland  was  wrested  from 
her  rightful  owners,  the  Irish  people.  By  no 
other  means  will  she  ever  be  restored.  And  is 
she  not  '  a  land  worth  fighting  for '  ?  The 
sentence  is  an  admirable  one.  It  indicates  at 
once  the  means  and  the  end,  the  only  means 
that  can  ever  prove  effectual,  the  only  end  that 
is  worth  the  work.  Those  means  are  simply  the 
riHe,  the  sword,  and  the  cannon  in  the  hands  of 
those  who  know  how  to  use  them." 

"  The  overthrow  of  tyranny  has  always  been 
the  work  of  the  people.  It  is  by  their  combined 
and  determined  efforts  that  rulers  are  made 
and  unmade.  America  and  France  have  fur- 
nished us  with  glorious  examples  of  this.  But 
in  the  streets  of  Paris,  and  upon  the  rich  soil  of 
America,  blood  was  shed  before  , freedom  came; 
and  so  it  must  be  in  Ireland.  To  win  for  our- 
selves an  independence,  to  raise  Ireland  to  her 
proper  rank  amongst  the  nations,  we  must  not, 
when  the  time  comes,  be  chary  of  our  own  or 
the  enemy's  blood." 


v]  LORD  WODEHOUSE  53 

"  Something  more  than  even  a  successful 
insurrection  is  demanded.  And  what  is  that  ? 
An  entire  revolution  which  will  restore  the 
country  to  its  rightful  owners.  And  who  are 
these  ?     The  people." 

"  We  saw  clearly  that  the  people  should  be 
taught  to  distinguish  between  the  priest  as  a 
minister  of  religion  and  the  priest  as  a  politician, 
before  they  could  be  got  to  advance  one  step 
on  the  road  to  independence." 

"  Our  only  hope  is  in  revolution.  But  most 
of  the  bishops  and  many  of  the  clergy  are  opposed 
to  revolution.  Is  it  not  then  the  duty  of  the 
Irish  patriot  to  teach  the  people  that  they  have 
a  right  to  judge  for  themselves  in  temporal 
matters  ?  This  is  what  we  have  done.  We 
have  over  and  over  again  declared  that  it  was 
our  wish  that  the  people  should  respect  and  be 
guided  by  their  clergy  in  spiritual  matters.  But 
when  priests  turn  the  altar  into  a  platform,  .  .  . 
we  believe  it  is  our  duty  to  tell  the  people  that 
bishops  and  priests  may  be  bad  politicians  and 
worse  Irishmen." 

AVhat  would  have  happened  in  Ireland  had 
the  personnel  at  the  Castle  remained  much 
longer  unchanged,  it  is  idle  to  conjecture. 
But  in  November,  1864,  Lord  Wodehouse  (the 
late  Earl  of  Kimberley)  succeeded  Lord  Carlisle 
as  Viceroy.  Though  there  was  no  recent  pre- 
cedent for  such  a  course,  the  new  Lord-Lieutenant 
took   to   reading   official   papers,  and  interested 


54         THE  FENIAN  MOVEMENT    [chap. 

himself  generally  in  the  state  of  the  country. 
I  recall  a  mot  by  which  one  of  the  clerks  in 
the  Chief  Secretary's  office — a  man  who  posed 
as  a  wit  *— gave  expression  to  the  surprise  of  the 
staff  at  such  proceedings,  and  to  their  sense  of 
the  want  of  dignity  they  betokened.  On  my 
asking  their  opinion  about  the  new  Viceroy, 
he  promptly  replied,  "  He's  the  best  clerk  in 
the  office." 

But  though  Lord  Wodehouse  entered  on  his 
duties  in  the  winter  of  1864,  it  was  not  until 
the  following  autumn,  when  Mr.  Lawson  had 
succeeded  Mr.  O'Hagan  as  Attorney-General, 
that  any  action  was  taken  to  suppress  the  con- 
spiracy. On  September  16,  1865,  the  office  of 
the  Irish  People  was  raided,  and  the  staff  of  the 
paper  arrested.  And  at  the  Special  Commission 
which  followed,  T.  C.  Luby,  the  nominal  pro- 
prietor ;  John  O'Leary,  the  editor ;  O'Donovan 
Rossa,  the  publisher ;  and  C.  J.  Kickham,  a 
leading  member  of  the  staff,  were,  with  others 
of  less  note,  convicted  of  treason  felony  and 
sentenced  to  penal  servitude. 

No  one,  surely,  who  knows  the  facts,  and  can 
realise  how  these  men  were  entrapped  into 
treason  by  the  shameful  incompetence  and 
criminal  apathy  of  the  Government  of  the  day, 

*   Lowry  lialfour,  well   known  in    Dublin  society,      lie  was  also 
a  "gentleman  at  large"  in  tlie  Viceregal   household — an  official 

designation  which  aptly  described  his  role  in  life. 


v]  STEPHENS'  ARREST  AND  ESCAPE  55 

can  fail  to  sympathise  with  them  and  to  deplore 
their  fate.  With  one  notorious  exception,*  they 
were,  both  in  ability  and  character,  much  above 
the  average  M.P.  of  the  Parnellite  era. 

After  evading  the  police  for  several  weeks, 
Stephens  was  arrested  on  November  11.  But 
aided  by  the  treachery  of  a  warder,  he  broke 
prison  before  the  trials  and  succeeded  in  escaping 
to  America. 

*  I  allude,  of  course,  to  Rossa. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE    "  F.B."    AND    THE    "RISING"    OF    1867 

According  to  the  design  of  its  founder,  the 
"  F.B.,"  or  Fenian  Brotherhood — a  title  which 
properly  belongs  only  to  the  American  brunch 
of  the  conspiracy — was  organized  to  aid  the 
"  I.R.B."  at  home  in  the  struggle  "  for  the 
liberation  of  Ireland  from  the  yoke  of  England." 
Established  in  1858  with  a  nucleus  of  forty 
members,  forty  regiments  were  enumerated  in 
the  Phoenix  newspaper  of  November  19,  1850, 
as  then  connected  with  it  in  the  different  states. 

But  its  strength  was  only  on  paper.  It  made 
but  little  progress  until  four  years  later,  when 
the  "  First  National  Convention "  was  held  in 
Chicago,  under  the  presidency  of  John  OMahony. 
This  was  in  November,  18G3.  At  the  second 
convention  in  Cincinnati,  fifteen  months  later, 
OMahony  announced  that  the  effect  of  the 
Chicago  meeting  had  been  "  to  extend  the  or- 
ganization nearly  five-fold,"  and  to  bring  in  more 
money  than  was  represented  by  the  total  receipts 
of  all  the  preceding  years. 


chap,  vi]  "F.B."  CONVENTION  OF  18G5   57 

At  the  third  annual  convention  of  the  "F.B.," 
which  met  at  Philadelphia  on  October  1G,  18G.5, 
"  an  envoy  "  from  Ireland  reported  himself  with 
letters  from  Stephens,  demanding  instant  help 
for  the  outbreak  which  was  declared  to  be  immi- 
nent in  spite  of  recent  reverses.  This  news 
excited  enthusiasm.  To  give  effect  to  the  policy 
thus  indicated,  the  presence  of  a  "  financial 
agent  "  in  Paris  was  deemed  essential ;  for  bills 
for  ,£3000,  which  had  been  posted  to  the  leaders 
in  Dublin  before  the  tidings  of  their  arrest 
reached  New  York,  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  Irish  police.  But  John  Mitchell,  of  1848 
fame,  was  the  only  man  who  could  be  trusted  in 
such  a  position,  and  he  was  in  prison  for  offences 
due  to  his  zeal  for  the  Confederate  cause  during 
the  war.  A  deputation  from  the  congress  was 
accordingly  despatched  to  Washington  to  treat 
for  his  release.  The  delegates  soon  returned  to 
announce  the  success  of  their  mission  ;  and  they 
further  claimed  to  have  received  from  President 
Johnson  and  Mr.  Seward  a  favourable  hearing 
for  proposals  they  had  laid  before  them,  to 
attempt  a  seizure  of  British  territory  in  America 
—  a  statement  the  truth  of  which  depends  on  the 
character  of  the  men  who  made  it,  and  this,  after 
all,  is  not  saying  much  for  it.  It  may  be  re- 
marked, however,  in  passing,  that  the  Irish  vote, 
which  affects  so  seriously  even  our  English 
statesmanship   at    home,    seems    to   have    been 

i 


58  THE   "RISING"   OF   1867     [chap. 

utterly  demoralising  in  its  influence  on  American 
politicians. 

A  month  later  a  further  despatch  was  re- 
ceived from  Stephens,  announcing  that  his 
"  military  council  "  had  definitely  fixed  the  last 
week  of  Decemher  for  the  outbreak.  O'Mahony 
summoned  his  colleagues,  and  urged  the  issue  of 
Fenian  bonds,*  to  be  repaid  by  the  "  Irish  Re- 
public "  six  months  after  the  "acknowledgment 
of  the  independence  of  the  Irish  nation."  But 
"  General  "  Sweeny,  the  Fenian  "  Secretary  of 
War,"  had  a  raid  on  Canada  on  the  brain,  and 
divided  counsels  paralysed  the  conspirators.  The 
news  of  Stephens'  arrest  was  quickly  followed 
by  tidings  of  his  escape ;  and  late  in  December 
the  notorious  F.  F.  Milieu,  the  president  of 
Stephens'  "  military  council"  in  Dublin,  arrived 
to  take  command  of  the  promised  expedition  for 
the  liberation  of  Ireland. 

It  was  not  till  December  20  that  this  "  mili- 
tary council "  decided  by  a  majority  of  one  to 
defer  action  for  a  time.  During  the  next  few 
weeks  many  Fenian  agents  arrived  from  America, 
and  a  number  of  Fenians  from  across  the  Channel 

*  These  honds  were  printed  in  the  style  of  hanknotes,  and  were 
in  the  following  form:  "  It  is  hereby  certified  that  the  Irish 
Republic  is  indebted  unto  .  .  .  or  hearer,  in  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  dollars,  redeemable  six  months  after  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  independence  of  the  Irish  nation,  with  interest  from  the  <lat.- 
hereof  inclusive,  at  six  per  cent,  per  annum,  p-iyahle  on  presentation 
of  this  bond  at  the  Treasury  of  the  Irish  Republic."  These  bonds 
were  freely  purchased  at  Fenian  meetings  in  America. 


vi]    THE  CANADIAN  RAID  OF  I860     59 

gathered  in  Dublin.  The  authorities  were  further 
alarmed  by  discovering  that  arms  were  being 
freely  distributed  among  the  disaffected.  The 
gravity  of  the  situation  was  serious ;  and  on 
February  17,  1860,  a  "Habeas  Corpus  Suspen- 
sion Act  "  was  passed  through  Parliament,  and 
received  the  Royal  assent.* 

The  effect  of  the  Act  was  magical,  and 
during  the  summer  of  1866  the  country  was 
more  peaceful  than  it  had  been  for  years.  In 
America,  on  the  other  hand,  the  action  of  the 
Government  exasperated  the  conspirators,  and 
for  a  time  the  excitement  was  intense.  But 
divisions  and  quarrels,  and  wild-cat  schemes, 
reduced  the  organization  to  impotence. 

Sweeny  was  still  intent  on  designs  against 
Canada ;  and  on  May  31a  band  of  six  hundred 
men  actually  crossed  the  Niagara  river  under 
O'Neill,  and  "  planted  the  Irish  flag  on  British 
soil."  Two  days  later,  however,  they  "  escaped  " 
back  to  American  territory,  and  thus  brought 
the  first  Canadian  raid  to  a  close. 

The  activity  of  the  O'Mahony  party  had 
taken  a  strange  turn.  Doran  Killian,  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Fenian  treasury,  had  been  one  of  the 

*  The  statistics  of  the  arrests  under  the  Act  may  he  of  interest. 
The  return  which  I  prepared  for  Lord  Mayo,  who,  in  July,  1860, 
became  Chief  Secretary  in  Lord  Derby's  administration,  showed  that 
the  total  arrests  up  to  the  date  of  his  taking  office  were  75(3.  When 
the  Act  was  renewed  in  August,  only  320  prisoners  remained  in 
custody,  and  three  months  later  this  number  had  been  reduced 
to  73. 


60  THE     'RISING      OF    1867      [chap. 

deputation  to  the  White  House  in  the  Mitchell 
affair,  and  his  head  was  full  of  a  design  to  make 
trouble  between  this  country  and  the  United 
States.  With  this  end  in  view  a  steamer  was 
purchased,  and  despatched  with  a  party  of  armed 
raiders  to  seize  the  island  of  Campobello,  N.B. 
But  the  only  problem  left  open  to  the  raiders 
was,  whether  they  woidd  be  captured  by  British 
or  American  forces  ?  They  gave  the  preference 
to  the  Americans. 

This  occurred  early  in  April.  A  month  later 
Stephens  arrived.  He  landed  in  New  York  on 
May  10,  and  was  warmly  welcomed  ;  for  it  was 
hoped  that  his  presence  would  heal  the  dis- 
sensions among  the  leaders.  But  his  intolerable 
arrogance  only  widened  the  breach.  Mitchell, 
who  knew  him  well,  had  written  from  Paris  to 
warn  O'Mahony  against  him ;  but  OMahony 
was  powerless,  and  resigned  in  his  favour. 

The  man  was  personally  contemptible,  and 
as  a  conspirator  he  was  a  fraud  ;  but  as  a  dema- 
gogue his  success  was  unquestionable.  At  his 
first  great  meeting  in  Jones'  Wood,  New  York, 
he  announced  his  policy  to  be  "  War  in  Ireland, 
and  nowhere  else;"  and  he  added,  "As  surely 
as  I  address  you  to-day,  we  shall  take  the  field 
in  Ireland  this  very  year," — a  pledge  which  he 
repeated  on  every  opportunity  during  the  next 
five  months.  He  declared  that  money  alone  was 
needed.      He  had  two  hundred  thousand  fighting 


vi]  STEPHENS'   AGITATION  61 

men  in  Ireland,  fifty  thousand  of  whom  were 
drilled,  ready  to  obey  his  summons. 

A  tour  he  made  through  the  New  England 
States  was  rather  a  failure,  and  the  movement 
was  sensibly  declining,  when  a  new  impulse  was 
given  it  by  the  exigencies  of  American  politics, 
and  the  eagerness  of  politicians  to  capture  the 
Irish  vote.  This  influence  led  to  his  obtaining 
a  return  of  the  Fenian  arms  which  had  been 
seized  at  Campobello,  and  of  the  steamer  pur- 
chased for  that  expedition.  But  money  came  in 
very  slowly,  and  the  reckless  personal  extrava- 
gance of  Stephens,  who  lived  like  a  prince,  made  a 
serious  drain  upon  the  funds.  The  acknowledged 
receipts  up  to  the  previous  May  were  400,000 
dollars,  but  of  this  sum  the  balance  remaining 
was  trifling  in  amount.  It  was  plain  that  no 
military  expedition  to  Ireland  was  possible. 

Stephens,  nevertheless,  maintained  his  popu- 
larity by  the  audacity  of  his  public  announce- 
ments. At  a  meeting  in  Jones'  AVood  on 
September  24,  he  repeated,  with  increased 
solemnity,  his  determination  to  take  the  field. 
"  The  men  in  Ireland,"  he  declared,  "  are  deter- 
mined on  fighting  this  year,  and  I  am  as  fully 
determined  on  being  with  them,  come  weal  or 
woe."  A  month  afterwards  he  made  his  last 
public  appearance  in  New  York.  On  that  occa- 
sion (October  28)  he  attended  another  monster 
meeting  in  Jones'  Wood,  and  delivered  himself 


62  THE    "RISING"   OF    1867     [chap. 

in  the  usual  strain.  He  announced  that  Fenian- 
ism  in  Ireland  was  as  strong  as  ever,  and  that 
within  two  months  would  be  decided  the  great 
question  of  Irish  independence.  "  I  speak  to 
you  now,"  lie  continued,  "  for  the  last  time 
before  returning  to  Ireland.  .  .  .  There  are  two 
hundred  thousand  men  in  Ireland  as  brave  as 
you  are,  who  want  to  fight  more  than  you  do. 
.  .  .  My  last  words  are,  that  we  shall  be  fighting 
on  Irish  soil  before  the  first  of  January,  and  that 
I  shall  be  there  in  the  midst  of  my  country- 
men." 

This  rhodomontade  had  a  powerful  effect  on 
the  conspirators  in  Ireland,  and  led  to  such  a 
renewal  of  Fenian  activity  as  to  create  a  sense  of 
general  alarm.  But  the  Irish  Government  used 
once  more  their  special  powers  under  the  statute, 
and  the  arrest  of  ninety-seven  local  leaders  and 
emissaries  of  the  organization  sufficed  to  restore 
peace  to  the  country,  a  peace  that  remained 
undisturbed  throughout  the  winter. 

^Vllen  the  sky  clears,  and  the  mercury  rises, 
people  do  not  throw  away  their  umbrellas, 
though  they  may  put  them  by.  Hut  without 
having  even  a  barometer  to  warn  them  of  an 
approaching  storm — for  as  yet  no  "  Intelligence 
Department"  had  been  organized —the  Irish 
Government  decided  to  part  with  the  powers 
which  had  proved  so  admirable  in  checking  dis- 
order.     When  Parliament  met  on  February  .5, 


vi]  STEPHENS    DEPOSED  63 

1807,  the  Queen's  speech  announced  the  aban- 
donment of  exceptional  legislation  for  Ireland. 
But  this  false  step  was  promptly  retraced.  A 
Hill  to  continue  the  "  Habeas  Corpus  Suspension 
Act "  was  introduced  on  the  20th,  and  became 
law  on  the  20th.  On  March  5  occurred  the 
armed  outbreak  for  which  the  Fenian  conspiracy 
had  been  preparing  for  years. 

In  the  winter  of  18GG  Stephens  met  in  New 
\rork  a  number  of  foreign  soldiers  of  fortune — 
Cluseret,  afterwards  known  to  fame  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Paris  Commune,  and  others  of 
lesser  note— and  to  these  men  he  repeated  in 
private  the  tissue  of  fable  and  falsehood  by 
which  he  had  already  gulled  his  Irish  dupes. 
But  soon  after  he  had  thus  obtained  a  promise 
of  their  services  he  found  himself  compelled  to 
summon  a  meeting  of  the  leaders,  and  to  urge  a 
postponement  of  the  movement  which  he  had 
pledged  himself  to  inaugurate  within  the  year. 
At  an  adjourned  meeting,  held  on  December  21, 
he  was  deposed  for  "  incompetency  and  dis- 
honesty ;  "  and  Kelly,  who  afterwards  came  to 
notice  as  the  hero  of  the  Manchester  outrage  of 
September,  1867,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
organization. 

This  last  meeting  precipitated  matters  in 
Ireland,  for  Kelly  was  as  reckless  as  Stephens 
was  timid.  The  exhausted  treasury  was  re- 
plenished by  the  sale  of  the  Campobello  steamer. 


64  THE    "RISING"   OF    1867      [chap. 

And  on  January  12,  Kelly  left  for  Europe  with 
Cluseret.  Godfrey  Massey  had  sailed  the  day 
before  with  money  to  distribute  among  the 
Fenian  officers  who  were  here  awaiting  orders 
and  supplies  from  America.  On  reaching 
London,  Massey  learned  that  a  coterie  of  these 
men,  weary  of  inactivity  and  disgusted  with 
Stephens,  had  framed  a  schismatic  -'directory" 
of  their  own  with  a  view  to  action  apart  from 
the  organization  in  America.  The  abortive  raid 
on  Chester  Castle  on  February  11,  and  the 
abortive  outbreak  in  Kerry  two  days  later,  were 
the  outcome  of  their  plot. 

Hut  in  spite  of  this  defection,  preparations 
for  the  officially  accredited  movement  were 
pressed  forward.  On  February  10,  Kelly  and 
his  confederates  met  in  a  Chenies  Street  lodging 
in  London,  and  formally  constituted  themselves 
the  "Provisional  Government  of  the  Irish  Re- 
public." At  this  same  meeting  a  manifesto  was 
adopted  for  issue  "  to  the  world,"  as  soon  as  the 
Irish  Republic  should  be  proclaimed.  At  a 
further  meeting  on  the  24th  the  night  of 
March  5  was  fixed  for  the  insurrection. 

On  February  26,  the  detailed  plans  for  the 
outbreak  were  communicalcd  to  the  Fenian 
centres  and  officers  in  Dublin,  and  the  plot  was 
at  once  disclosed  to  the  Irish  Government  by  an 
informer.  Most  of  the  leaders,  therefore,  were 
caged    in    various   Irish  prisons   when    March   ."> 


vi]      THE  BATTLE  OF  TALLAGHT     65 

arrived.  Cluseret  was  in  Paris,  and  Kelly  was 
safe  in  his  Chenies  Street  lodgings  in  London. 

An  account  of  the  incidents  which  marked 
the  "rising"  would  add  unduly  to  the  length  of 
these  pages,  but  two  of  the  most  important 
skirmishes  may  be  worth  recording.  It  should 
be  premised  that  Dublin,  Cork,  Tipperary, 
Limerick,  Clare,  the  Queen's  County,  and  Louth 
were  the  only  counties  in  which  the  public 
peace  was  seriously  disturbed.  The  Connaught 
Fenians  refused  to  move,  because  of  the  absence 
of  the  French  officer  who  had  been  promised 
them ;  and  a  "  rising "  in  Ulster  was  never 
seriously  contemplated. 

The  hill  of  Tallaght  seems  to  have  been 
designed  as  the  principal  rallying-point  for  the 
Dublin  Fenians.  The  force  in  charge  of  the 
barrack  at  that  place  consisted  of  eleven  men  ; 
and  these  were  reinforced  before  midnight  by 
the  arrival  of  a  sub -inspector  from  Rathfarnham, 
who  volunteered  for  the  duty.  None  of  the 
insurgents  had  yet  reached  the  hill ;  but  before 
long  there  was  heard  the  tramp  of  armed  men 
approaching  by  the  Greenhills  Road.  Doubtless 
a  fierce  attack  was  looked  for,  but  no  sooner  did 
the  officer  challenge  the  advancing  party,  than 
they  turned  and  fled,  without  a  single  shot  being 
fired.  After  an  interval,  another  party  was  heard 
approaching  the  hill  on  the  Roundtown  side. 
The  order  to  halt  and  disperse  was  met  by  a 

K 


66  THE  "RISING"  OF  1867      [chap. 

volley  from  the  Fenians ;  but  the  moment  the 
police  returned  the  fire,  the  rebels  beat  a  precipi- 
tate retreat,  many  of  them  flinging  away  their 
arms  to  facilitate  their  flight.  The  police  started 
in  pursuit,  and  succeeded  in  making-  numerous 
arrests.  Among  the  prisoners  were  five  wounded 
men,  who  fell  under  the  single  volley  from  the 
rifles  of  the  constabulary. 

In  the  south,  the  town  of  Kilmalloek  was  the 
scene  of  the  most  serious  encounter  that  took 
place  in  connection  with  the  "rising.''  The 
police  barrack,  though  strongly  built  of  stone, 
was  ill-fitted  for  defence,  as  it  had  no  fewer  than 
twenty-six  doors  and  windows,  and  was  almost 
entirely  surrounded  by  walls,  which  afforded 
shelter  to  an  attacking  party.  A  head  constable 
was  in  charge  of  the  station,  with  fourteen  men 
under  his  command.  Late  in  the  evening  a 
body  of  Fenians  assembled  under  the  leader- 
ship of  an  Irish  American,  named  Dunne,  and 
(ailed  at  several  houses,  making  demands  for 
arms.  During  one  of  their  visits,  a  gentleman, 
the  manager  of  a  bank  in  the  town,  was  fired  at 
and  seriously  wounded  for  refusing  compliance 
uilh  Dunne's  requirements  ;  and  the  doctor  who 
was  sent  for  to  attend  him  was  shot  dead  on 
returning  from  the  patient's  house.  Warned  by 
these  outrages,  the  entire  force  of  police  remained 
under  arms  during  the  night. 

Shortly  before  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 


vi]   THE  ATTACK  ON  KILMALLOCK   G7 

Fenians,  then  about  two  hundred  strong,  sur- 
rounded the  barrack  and  commenced  an  attack. 
For  three  hours  the  fighting  lasted,  a  well- 
sustained  fire  being  kept  up  on  both  sides.  The 
rebels  held  their  ground  with  the  greatest  deter- 
mination, and  gave  way  at  last  only  because  of 
the  arrival  of  a  reinforcement  of  police.  The 
sub-inspector  *  in  command  of  the  district  had 
started  for  Kilmallock  on  hearing  of  the  first 
disturbance  the  night  before.  Reaching  the 
town  too  late  to  join  his  men,  he  hurried  back 
to  Kilfenane,  and  returned  with  a  party  of  eleven 
to  relieve  their  beleaguered  comrades.  Approach- 
ing the  barrack  at  the  rear,  the  ring  of  their  rifles 
was  the  first  notice  the  rebels  had  of  their  pre- 
sence ;  and  a  single  volley  from  so  unexpected  a 
quarter  created  a  panic  in  their  ranks.  Taking 
advantage  of  the  confusion,  the  police  combined 
their  forces,  and  a  bold  attack  on  their  assailants 
ended  the  fray.  The  Fenian  leader  seized  a 
horse  from  a  stable  hard  by,  and  was  the  first 
to  escape. 

The  foregoing  will  serve  to  give  a  general 
view  of  the  outbreak  of  1867.  The  result  of 
divided  counsels,  at  a  time  when  the  conspiracy 
was  in  a  great  measure  disorganized,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  movement  proved  so  com- 
pletely a  fiasco.     John  Mitchell's  estimate  of  the 

*  In  the  Irish  Constabulary  a  sub-inspector  is  a  commissioned 
officer,  and  head  constable  is  a  subordinate  rank. 


68         THE  "RISING"  OF  18G7       [chap,  vi 

business  was  that  "  the  project  was  in  itself  wild, 
and  could  only  be  made  to  appear  feasible  by 
systematic  delusion  and  imposture." 

And  yet,  wild  though  the  project  was,  and 
seemingly  contemptible,  it  is  an  important  link 
in  the  chain  of  Irish  agitation.  For  the  Fenian 
demands  of  18G7  are  the  "  Nationalist  "  demands 
of  the  present  day.* 

*  See  p.  180,  post. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE    CLER  KEN  WELL    EXPLOSION 

When  the  "  Fenian  Rising "  occurred  I  was 
paying  an  after-circuit  visit  in  the  country,  and 
a  summons  from  the  Attorney- General  recalled 
me  to  Dublin.  Some  hundreds  of  the  "  in- 
surgents "  had  been  marched  into  the  city  in 
custody,  and,  after  a  very  summary  magisterial 
hearing,  committed  for  trial  for  high  treason. 
The  duty  entrusted  to  me  was  to  select  the  cases 
which  were  worth  a  prosecution. 

The  task  was  interesting ;  and  the  method 
of  procedure  was  simple.  All  the  "  natives " 
among  the  prisoners  petitioned  for  release,  and 
their  petitions  were  backed  by  clamorous  appeals 
from  their  relatives.  Now  the  Irish  Attorney- 
General  is,  in  the  fullest  sense,  a  member  of  the 
Government.  And,  moreover,  he  is  Public  Pro- 
secutor ;  for  in  this  respect  both  Ireland  and 
Scotland  have  long  since  reached  a  stage  of 
civilisation  that  England  has  not  yet  attained.* 

*  In  England  there  is  no  Public  Prosecutor.  The  "Director  of 
Public  Prosecutions  "  deals  only  with  a  limited  number  of  cases 
falling  within  certain  definite  categories. 


70  CLER.KENWELL  EXPLOSION   [chap. 

The  proper  official  reply  to  the  petitions,  there- 
fore, was  that,  as  the  accused  were  committed 
for  trial,  the  matter  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Attorney-General,  and  the  Lord  Lieutenant 
could  not  interfere.  And  in  the  important  cases 
this  reply  was  sent.  But  the  rank  and  file  of 
the  Irish  Republican  army  consisted  of  "  corner 
boys,"  as  street  loafers  are  termed  in  Ireland; 
and  to  arraign  such  men  by  the  score  on  a  charge 
of  high  treason  was  out  of  the  question.  The 
law  has  not  majesty  enough  to  bear  such  a 
strain.  So  I  posed  as  an  amicus  who  wanted  to 
help  them. 

"  But  how  could  I  know  that  the  boys  would 
not  disgrace  me?  Could  I  be  sure  that  they 
wouldn't  take  to  Fenianism  worse  than  ever  ? " 
With  extraordinary  unanimity  they  all  declared 
that  they  had  been  tricked  into  the  business, 
and  would  never  handle  a  gun  again  as  long  as 
they  lived.  I  promised  to  do  my  best  for  them. 
A  promise  which  I  fulfilled  by  entering  their 
names  in  a  list  of  prisoners  to  be  released  on 
their  own  recognisances.  If  the  prayers  and 
benedictions  of  the  mothers  and  sisters  of  the 
rascals  failed  to  help  me,  the  failure  was  not  due 
to  want  of  earnestness  on  their  part.  They  gave 
proof  of  their  sincerity  by  telling  me  all  they 
knew  about  the  Fenians  and  the  "  Rising;"  and 
in  matters  of  this  kind  every  trifling  detail  of 
information  is  useful. 


vn]  "QUEEN'S  EVIDENCE"  71 

This  task  led  to  my  being  asked  to  under- 
take another,  of  a  much  more  delicate  and 
difficult  kind,  namely,  to  secure  one  of  the 
more  important  prisoners  as  "  Queen's  evi- 
dence "  at  the  approaching  trials.  It  was 
rather  a  strain  upon  professional  etiquette,  but 
a  barrister  may  discharge  any  duty  sanctioned 
by  the  leader  of  the  Bar,  and  it  was  for  the 
Attorney- General  I  was  acting.  Armed  with 
plenary  powers,  I  visited  the  gaol.  It  did  not 
take  long  to  discover  that  Godfrey  Massey  was 
incomparably  the  ablest  and  best  informed  of 
the  prisoners.  And  I  found,  moreover,  that 
his  indignation  was  deep  at  the  deceit  and 
cowardice  of  Stephens,  Kelly,  and  the  other 
American  leaders.  I  then  took  the  Governor 
of  the  Prison  into  my  confidence,  and  asked 
him  to  smuggle  me  into  Massey's  cell,  and  to 
get  me  out  again  unobserved.  It  was  possible, 
he  said,  only  if  I  consented  to  go  in  during 
the  warders'  dinner-hour,  and  to  remain  till  after 
locking-up  time. 

This  was  an  ordeal  at  best,  and  not  without 
risk,  for  Massey  was  a  powerful  man,  of  a  pas- 
sionate temper,  and  in  no  amiable  frame  of  mind 
just  then.  But  I  faced  it ;  and,  after  half  a 
dozen  hours  in  his  cell,  I  left  Kilmainham  Gaol 
in  possession  of  the  whole  story  of  the  "  In- 
surrection plot." 

A  special  Commission  was  appointed  for  the 


72   CLERKEXW  ELL  EXPLOSION   [chap. 

trial  of  the  prisoners ;  and  the  most  prominent 
of  their  number  received  sentence  of  death  for 
high  treason  in  the  blood-curdling  formula 
prescribed  by  the  law  —  a  survival  of  a  bar- 
barous age.*  Here,  for  example,  is  the  official 
report  of  the  sentence  pronounced  upon  one  of 
the  leaders — 

"  That  you,  John  McCafferty,  be  taken  back 
from  hence  to  the  gaol  from  which  you  came, 
and  that  you  be  thence,  on  Wednesday,  the 
12th  of  June  next,  drawn  on  a  hurdle  to  the 
place  of  execution  ;  that  you  be  there  hanged 
by  the  neck  until  you  are  dead,  and  that  after- 
wards your  head  shall  be  severed  from  your 
body,  and  your  body  divided  into  four  parts, 
which  shall  be  disposed  of  as  Her  Majesty  or 
her  successors  shall  think  fit ;  and  I  have  only 
to  add,  may  the  Al mighty  God  have  mercy  on 
your  soul." 

The  Commission  finished  its  labours  before 
the  end  of  May.  The  excitement  soon  died  out. 
And,  when  September  came,  the  sky  was  clear 
again,  and  the  barometer  was  high.  Peace 
reigned  in  Ireland.  It  was  England's  turn, 
now,  to  experience  a  Fenian  scare. 

On  September  11,  two  men,  "supposed 
to  be  Irish  Americans,"  were  arrested  in 
Manchester  under   the   Vagrant   Act.     On   the 

*   All  the  capital  sentences  were  commuted. 


vii]    THE  MANCHESTER  OUTRAGE    73 

following  Tuesday  a  police  report  was  received 
in  Dublin,  that  the  informer  Corydon  had 
identified  the  prisoners  as  being  the  notorious 
"  Colonel  "  Kelly,  and  a  "  Captain  "  Deasy,  who 
had  held  a  command  in  "  the  Rising."  "  Dublin 
Castle "  was  en  vacance  at  this  time.  All  the 
principal  officials  were  enjoying  a  holiday,  well 
earned  by  many  months  of  unusual  strain.  The 
Chief  Secretary,  though  nominally  at  his  office, 
was  really  at  his  home  in  Co.  Kildare,  some 
fifteen  miles  away.  The  only  representative  of 
the  Irish  Government  actually  in  town  was  a 
recently  appointed  Solicitor- General.  For,  though 
I  was  installed  at  the  Castle,  and  attended  daily  at 
a  professional  fee,  I  held  no  Government  appoint- 
ment, and  had  no  executive  powers  whatever. 

The  Solicitor-General  left  town  early  that 
day,  and  I  had  no  opportunity  of  seeing  him  in 
this  Manchester  business.  But  we  met  in  the 
evening.  We  were  both  staying  at  Bray,  Co. 
Wicklow  ;  and  in  conversation  on  the  sea  front 
after  dinner,  I  delivered  my  soul  on  "  the 
situation."  Knowing  the  character  of  the  con- 
spiracy, and  the  importance  of  the  man  Kelly, 
I  believed  there  was  serious  danger  of  a  rescue, 
on  the  prisoners  being  brought  up  on  remand 
next  day.  But  my  friend  was  in  a  serene,  after- 
dinner  frame  of  mind,  and  my  efforts  to  alarm 
him  were  futile. 

But  when  we  met  at  the  Castle  next  morning 

L 


74   CLERKENWELL  EXPLOSION   [chap. 

the  Solicitor-General  told  me  that  my  words  had 
robbed  him  of  his  sleep,  and  that  he  was  going 
to  Palmerstown  to  lay  the  matter  before  Lord 
Mayo.  I  remonstrated  that  time  was  precious, 
and  that  the  Chief  Secretary  could  do  no  more 
than  I  could  do  in  his  name,  if  I  had  authority 
to  use  it.  He  gave  the  word,  and  I  despatched 
the  telegrams  which  the  disaster  of  the  day 
rendered  famous,  warning  both  the  Home  Office 
and  the  Manchester  authorities  that  special  pre- 
cautions were  necessary  in  the  case  of  the  Fenian 
prisoners.  The  warning  was  neglected,  and  the 
prisoners  were  rescued  at  the  cost  of  a  police 
officer's  life. 

Lord  Mayo's  keen  and  generous  appreciation 
of  my  action  in  this  matter  drew  me  still  further 
into  Government  work,  and  the  "  Clerkenwell 
explosion"  of  the  following  December  expedited 
my  fall.* 

Two  years  before,  an  American  Fenian 
named  Ricard  Burke  settled  in  Birmingham 
as  "  arms  agent "  to  the  conspiracy.     He  was  a 


*  That  a  man  of  my  age  was  accorded  a  position  of  such  responsi- 
bility and  trust  as  that  which  I  held  in  Dublin  Castle  at  this  time 
can  he  accounted  for  only  in  one  way— that  being  my  brother's 
brother  1  was  credited  with  the  qualities  which  made  him  the  trusted 
adviser  of  the  Irish  Government  in  all  matters  of  administration. 
An  exceptional  capacity  for  affairs  i-  rarely  combined  witb  imper- 
turbable amiability  of  temper,  and  I  never  Knew  a  man  in  whom 
they  were  more  conspicuously  united  Though  not  many  years  my 
senior  he  was  already  repu ted  a  Ne.-tor  in  the  councils  of  Dublin 
(  astle. 


vii]   THE  EXPLOSION  REHEARSED    75 

man  of  such  mark  in  the  brotherhood  that,  if 
Kelly's  arrest  had  resulted  in  a  conviction,  he 
would  have  succeeded  him  as  "  CO."  This  man 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  police  on  November 
28,  and  was  committed  to  the  House  of  Detention 
at  Clerkenwell.  He  himself  was  the  author  of 
the  plot  for  his  rescue. 

In  this  instance,  the  warning  we  sent  to 
London  was  based  upon  information  of  the 
fullest  and  most  explicit  kind.  The  following 
is  a  copy  of  it : — 

"  The  rescue  of  Ricard  Burke  from  prison 
in  London  is  contemplated.  The  plan  is  to 
blow  up  the  exercise  walls  by  means  of  gun- 
powder ;  the  hour  between  3  and  4  p.m.  ;  and 
the  signal  for  '  all  right '  a  white  ball  thrown  up 
outside  when  he  is  at  exercise." 

So  accurately  does  this  describe  the  event, 
that  a  change  of  the  tenses  would  make  it  read 
as  a  record  of  what  actually  took  place.  But 
the  amazing  part  of  the  story  is  that  there  was 
a  "full  dress  rehearsal"  of  the  plot  the  day 
before  the  actual  explosion.  On  the  afternoon 
of  December  12  the  barrel  of  gunpowder  was 
brought  to  the  place  on  a  barrow.  The  white 
ball  was  thrown  over  the  wall  of  the  prison 
yard,  as  arranged.  Burke  "  fell  out "  on  the 
pretence  of  having  a  stone  in  his  shoe,  and 
retired  to  a  corner  of  the  yard,  which,  as  was 


76   CLEUKENWELL  EXPLOSION   [chap. 

proved  next  day,  was  a  perfectly  safe  retreat. 
But,  for  some  unaccountable  reason,  the  fuse 
when  lighted  foiled  to  explode  the  powder,  and 
the  execution  of  the  plot  had  to  he  deferred. 

On  the  following  day  the  conspirators  re- 
peated their  performance.  Once  again  the  cask 
of  powder  was  rolled  to  the  place  agreed  upon ; 
the  white  ball  signal  was  given  as  before ;  and 
the  explosion  followed.  The  prison  authorities, 
however,  had  taken  the  precaution  of  exercising 
the  prisoners  in  a  different  yard ;  and  thus  the 
purpose  of  the  plot  was  thwarted. 

But  what  about  the  police?  it  may  well  be 
asked.  The  police  were  at  hand,  with  elaborate 
instructions  which  they  carried  out  to  the  letter. 
They  were  misled,  however,  by  a  glaring  in- 
accuracy in  the  warning  notice.  They  were 
definitely  told  that  the  wall  of  the  gaol  was  to 
be  blown  up,  whereas  in  fact  it  was  blown  down. 
This  is  not  a  clumsy  joke ;  it  is  the  official 
explanation  of  the  matter  as  given  by  the 
Secretary  of  State  in  Parliament  with  prosaic 
solemnity.* 

*  In  answer  to  a  question  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  March  9, 
1868,  Mr.  Gathorne  Manly,  the  Home  Secretary,  gave,  in  extenso, 
I  he  warning  report,  as  set  oul  supra,  and  narrated  what  was  done  in 
pursuance  of  it.     Ilk  closing  word-,  were  as  Follows  : — 

"  Although  tlic  information  that  bad  been  received  was  commu- 
nicated to  the  officers  on  the  spot,  the  cass  was  placed  close  to  the 
wall  without  anybody  supposing  that  there  was  any  cause  to  appre- 
hend mischief  from  it.  It  appeared  that  the  mode  of  carrying  out 
the  design  of  which  they  had  received  information  did  not  strike 


vii]  SPECIAL   CONSTABLES  77 

The  explosion  and  its  consequences  are  now 
matters  of  history.     The  Metropolis  was  thrown 
into  a  state  of  panic.     "  Terror  took  possession 
of  society."  *     Three  days  after  the  outrage  the 
Home   Office   issued   a    circular  calling  for  the 
enrolment  of  special  constables,  "as  it  was  pos- 
sible that,  owing  to  the  designs  of  wicked  and 
evil-disposed  persons,  the  ordinary  police  force 
might  be  found  insufficient  to  perform  the  duties 
required  of  them."     Within  a  month  over  fifty 
thousand  "  specials  "  were  thus  enrolled  in  the 
Metropolis,  and  more  than  twice  that  number 
throughout  the  kingdom,  f  for  the  panic  spread 
to  the  provinces.     In  various  towns,  where  the 
Irish  were  numerous,  arms  were  supplied  to  the 
local  police.    "  Fenian  scares  "  abounded  on  every 
side. 

At  Lord  Mayo's  request  I  met  him  in  London 
that  week,  and  placed  myself  at  the  disposal  of 

those  who  were  set  to  watch  the  outside  of  the  prison  ;  for  the 
policeman  Moriarty  walked  along  by  the  side  of  the  wall  when  the 
cask  was  there,  and  nearly  all  his  clothes  were  blown  off  in  con- 
sequence of  the  explosion.  What  their  attention  was  apparently 
directed  to  was  the  undermining  of  the  wall  ;  they  thought  it  would 
probably  be  blown  up  from  underneath,  and  had  no  conception  that 
it  would  be  blown  down  in  the  way  it  really  was  done." 

*  These  were  Lord  Campbell's  words  in  the  House  of  Lords  on 
March  19,  1868. 

f  The  exact  numbers,  as  given  in  books  of  public  reference,  were 
52,974  in  the  Metropolis,  and  113,674  throughout  the  kingdom. 
Lord  Campbell  moved  for  the  return  on  March  19, 1868,  but,  though 
laid  on  the  table  of  the  House  of  Lords,  it  wa9  not  printed.  The 
special  constables  were  dismissed  by  an  order  issued  on  March  31, 
1868. 


CLERKENWELL  EXrLOSION   [chap. 

tlie  Government.  Amusement  alternated  with 
amazement  in  my  mind  at  the  state  of  things  I 
found  here.  The  teetotalers,  their  enemies  say, 
throw  off  all  restraint  when  they  give  way  to  a 
debauch  ;  and  the  same  remark  seems  to  apply 
to  Englishmen  when  they  give  way  to  a  scare. 
Even  the  Private  Secretaries  at  Whitehall  carried 
revolvers.  And  staid  and  sensible  men  gave  up 
their  evening  engagements,  and  their  sleep  at 
night,  to  take  their  turn  at  "  sentry-go  "  as  special 
constables.  The  lives  of  many  of  them  were 
seriously  imperilled,  but  it  was  by  London  fogs 
and  not  by  Fenian  plots. 

In  Ireland  we  kept  our  heads  in  presence  of 
real  dangei  from  the  machinations  of  the  Fenian 
organization.  Hut  the  "  Clerkenwell  explosion  " 
was  not  the  work  of  the  organization  at  all,  but 
of  a  sel  of  London  Irish  Fenians,  whose  calibre 
as  conspirators  may  be  gauged  by  the  fact  that 
tiny  could  not  even  keep  their  own  counsel. 
I  heir  plot  was  known  in  Dublin,  even  to  persons 
who  were  not  Fenians  at  all.* 

It  may  be  further  gauged  by  their  own 
astonishment  at  the  effects  of  the  explosion. 
They  meant  to  make  a  breach  in  the  prison  wall  : 
hut  1 1  icy  no  more  intended  to  wreck  the  opposite 

♦  In  tlii>  clam  was  our  Lnformanl  a  person  whose  only  connec- 
tion with  Fenianiam  was  help  given,  1 1 > r » > u-_> n  kindness  of  heart,  to 
some  "i  i In-  '•  boys"  whom  tin-  police  were  searching  lor.  In  latei 
years  I  occasionally  received  information  from  the  same  individual, 
and  it  was  always  designed  to  prevenl  tin'  commission  of  crime. 


vii]   MR.  GLADSTONE'S  SPEECHES     79 

houses  than  to  disestablish  the  Irish  Church. 
The  result  of  their  work  in  the  one  direction  was 
all  too  manifest.  As  regards  the  other,  it  needed 
Mr.  Gladstone  to  enlighten  them.  It  was  their 
crime,  he  proclaimed  in  Midlothian,  that  brought 
that  question  within  the  sphere  of  practical 
politics.  Even  if  his  estimate  of  the  business 
had  been  just,  his  words  respecting  it  would 
have  been  none  the  less  unjustifiable.  For  they 
could  not  fail  to  encourage  the  Fenians  to  com- 
mit further  crimes  of  the  same  character.  And 
I  can  testily  that  on  every  Fenian  platform  they 
have  been  used  to  that  end.  But  in  view  of  the 
actual  facts  of  the  explosion,  his  words  were  no 
less  unwarrantable  on  other  grounds.  In  plain 
truth,  they  were  egregiously  foolish,  for,  viewed 
apart  from  its  deplorable  consequences,  the  whole 
plot  was  utterly  contemptible,  and  might  have 
been  dismissed  as  a  screaming  farce. 


CHAPTER    VIM 

from   1867  TO   1880 

The  secret  history  of  the  Fenian  movement 
would,  in  every  part  of  it,  afford  useful  lessons 
for  the  present  time.  But,  unfortunately,  people 
have  no  love  for  lessons,  and  the  story  would  be 
neglected  by  those  who  need  it  most.  The 
events  of  the  next  dozen  years  must,  therefore, 
be  dismissed  with  no  further  notice  than  is 
necessary  to  preserve  the  sequence  of  the 
narrative. 

Before  Christmas,  1807,  I  found  myself 
installed  in  the  Irish  Office  in  London.  And  in 
the  following  April  I  moved  to  the  Home  Office 
as  adviser  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in  matters 
relating  to  Fenian  and  Irish  business.  This  was 
oik-  result  of  the  *k  Clerkenwell  explosion."  There 
is  no  doubt,  I  may  here  remark,  that  the  scare 
produced  by  that  crime  operated  as  an  en- 
couragement  to  the  conspirators;  and  the  failure 
to  convict,  the  perpetrators  of  it  further  tended 
to    cause    a    revival    of  the    Fenian    activity    in 


chap,  viii]  EXECUTION  OF  BARRETT  81 

London.*  Offers  of  information  were  received 
from  all  the  prisoners ;  and  I  was  willing  to 
interview  them  on  the  conditions  on  which  1 
had  undertaken  a  similar  duty  in  Dublin.  But 
red  tape  was  supreme  in  such  matters  here,  and 
I  refused  to  intervene. 

The  most  worthless  and  shifty  of  the  lot  was 
accepted  as  a  witness,  because  he  "  squealed " 
the  loudest  and  promised  the  most ;  and  with 
one  exception  the  whole  gang  escaped.  Michael 
Barretts  name  will  go  down  to  history,  not 
because  he  was  hanged  for  the  Clerkenwell 
explosion,  but  because  his  was  the  last  public 
execution  in  England. 

Meanwhile  the  conspirators  continued  to 
dream  of  an  armed  insurrection  in  Ireland. 
Michael  Davitt  was  appointed  to  succeed 
Ricard  Burke  as  "  arms  agent,"  and  he  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  the  office  so  zealously  and 
well  as  to  earn  a  conviction  for  treason  felony 
and  a  fifteen  years'  sentence.  Information  of 
his  doings  was  not  lacking,  but  it  was  not  till 
February,  1870,  that  we  obtained  evidence  to 
justify  his  arrest. 

*  Various  incidents  occurred  at  this  time  to  foster  the  Fenian 
scare,  such,  e.g.,  as  the  attempt  to  assassinate  the  Duke  of 
Edinhurgh  in  Australia.  In  his  "  Life  of  Lord  Beaconsfield " 
(15th  thousand,  p.  210),  Mr.  Lewis  Apjohn  narrates  that  "on 
March  12,  1808,  the  Duke  of  Edinhurgh  was  shot  in  the  back  by  an 
avowed  Fenian  in  Australia,  and  was  hung  for  the  oifence."  Having 
enjoyed  the  honour  of  H.R.HVs  acquaintance,  I  can  assert  that  this 
is  a  mistake.  The  Duke  of  Edinburgh  was  not  hung  for  that 
offence  . 

M 


82  FROM  1867  TO  1880  [chap. 

The  London  Fenians  afterwards  adopted  a 
less  costly  method  of  obtaining  rifles — they  stole 
them.  After  the  Saturday  parades,  hundreds  of 
volunteers  repaired  to  various  public  houses  for 
refreshments,  and  while  they  stood  drinking  at 
the  bar,  their  rifles  were  "  sneaked."  The  War 
Office  became  as  much  concerned  at  these  pro- 
ceedings as  the  Irish  Government,  and  I  was 
asked  to  make  special  efforts  to  check  them. 
For  the  sake  of  those  who  may  read  these 
pages  only  for  amusement,  I  may  record  the 
following  incident  as  illustrating  the  manner  in 
which  affairs  of  State  are  sometimes  decided. 

I  got  word  one  afternoon  that  several  cases 
of  the  stolen  rifles  were  stored  in  a  certain 
private  house  in  Soho.  Sir  Adolphus  Liddell,* 
the  Under-Secretary  at  the  Home  Office,  brought 
me  to  the  House  of  Commons  to  submit  the 
matter  to  the  Secretary  of  State.  Mr.  Bruce f 
called  in  the  Attorney-General,  Sir  J.  D.  Cole- 
ridge, and  we  had  a  conference  in  the  Whips' 
room  (now  occupied  by  the  post-office)  in  the 
corner  of  the  members'  lobby.  Practising  lawyers 
are  generally  practical  men,  but  Coleridge  was 
a  philosopher  and  a  doctrinaire.  Sitting  on  a 
window-sill,  with  his  legs  dangling,  and  with 
uplifted    finger,    he    discoursed   on   the    British 


*  At  thai   date  he  was   Mr.   Liddell,  but  I   will  Bpeak  of  him 
throu   lioui  by  the  name  by  which  he  is  now  remembered. 
t    Afterwards  Lord  Aherdarc. 


vin]         ABOUT  STOLEN  RIFLES  83 

Constitution  and  the  law  applicable  to  the  busi- 
ness, and  argued  against  the  practical  view  I 
took  of  it. 

Finally,  I  was  made  to  write  out  at  his  dic- 
tation a  set  of  directions  for  the  police,  as  to 
what  they  might  do,  and  might  not  do  in 
the  circumstances.  When  Mr.  Bruce  and  the 
Attorney  left  us,  I  told  Sir  Adolphus  Liddell 
what  I  thought  of  adopting  Blackstone's  Com- 
mentaries as  our  guide  in  dealing  with  a  set  of 
sweeps  engaged  in  criminal  conspiracies.  He 
sent  in  again  for  the  Chief,  and  greeted  him  on 

his  return  with,  "  Anderson  says  this  is  all  d d 

rot."  Mr.  Brace's  face  was  a  study.  I  assured 
him  that,  though  the  language  was  not  mine, 
it  expressed  what  I  felt.  "  What  would  you 
propose  to  do  ? "  he  inquired.  To  which  I  gave 
the  answer  I  have  often  made  to  Secretaries  of 
State,  "  I  will  tell  you,  of  course,  if  you  ask  me. 
But  is  it  wise  ?  "  He  took  the  paper  out  of  my 
hand,  tore  it  up,  and  with  a  kindly  nod  he  left 
us  again.  Two  hours  later  I  sent  down  a  note 
to  say  that  the  stolen  rifles  were  safe  at  Scotland 
Yard.  But  how  was  it  managed  ?  That  is  just 
what  the  public  would  like  to  know ;  but  just 
what  it  is  better  they  should  not  know.  For 
"  the  public  "  includes  "  our  friends  the  enemy," 
to  whom  information  of  this  kind  would  be 
welcome. 

But  to  resume.    To  understand  the  subsequent 


84  FROM  1867  TO  1880  [chap. 

development  of  the  "  Irish  Question,'"  it  is  neces- 
sary to  glance  at  the  course  of  events  in  the 
American  organization.  Taking  advantage  of 
the  discredit  which  the  fiasco  of  1807  brought 
on  the  Stephens  wing,  the  Canada  party  de- 
spatched  their  "Secretary  for  Civil  Affairs"  to 
negotiate  an  alliance  with  the  leaders  at  home. 
They  provided  hi  in  with  an  able  colleague,  a 
man  whose  name  I  suppress,  as  he  has  since 
risen  to  fame  as  a  Nationalist  M.P.  And  as  the 
outcome  of  their  joint  mission,  a  "Supreme 
Council  "  was  appointed  to  co-operate  with  the 
brotherhood  in  America.  But  having  got  all 
they  could  out  of  the  Americans,  the  Council 
repudiated  them  and  their  projects. 

Thus  foiled,  the  Americans  devoted  their 
attention  to  their  favourite  scheme,  and  the 
result  was  the  1870  raid  on  Canada;  a  really 
formidable  movement  in  its  way,  which  Le 
Caron's  services  turned  into  a  fiasco.  To  watch 
a  frontier  of  a  thousand  miles  was  an  impossible 
task.  But  Le  Caron  enabled  me  to  supply  the 
Dominion  Government  with  the  "  plan  of  cam- 
paign/9 and  to  indicate  the  precise  spot  at  which 
the  raiders  would  cross  into  Canadian  territory. 
He  took  care,  I  may  add,  that  the  Fenian 
"  artillery  "  was  rendered  unserviceable. 

The  interval  between  1870  and  1878  was 
marked  by  a  series  of  characteristic  quarrels  and 
plots.     But  in  1878  the  different  sections  of  the 


vm]      THE  "NEW  DEPARTURE''         85 

organization  became  at  last  united,  and  it  was 
decided  to  re-establish  co-operation  with  the 
conspirators  at  home.  John  Devoy,  of  much 
fame  in  Fenian  story,  was  the  emissary  selected 
for  that  purpose.  Devoy  soon  found  proof  that 
the  farming  classes  of  Ireland  could  not  be  drawn 
into  a  purely  political  conspiracy  ;  and  his  report 
was  to  the  effect  that  it  was  only  by  taking  up 
the  land  question  that  Fenianism  could  secure 
their  support.  His  views  prevailed  in  New 
York,  and  in  due  time  "  the  New  Departure,"  as 
it  was  called,  became  the  policy  of  the  organi- 
zation. 

This  movement  found  its  prophet  in  Mr. 
Michael  Davitt,  than  whom  the  Fenian  con- 
spiracy can  boast  of  no  more  interesting  per- 
sonality. By  an  accident  in  a  Lancashire  cotton 
mill,  he  lost  an  arm  in  early  life.  He  afterwards 
found  employment  as  newsboy  in  a  stationer's 
shop  in  Haslingden,  where  he  remained  until 
called  upon  to  take  up  his  work  as  arms  agent, 
When  released  on  licence  in  1878,  he  gave  proof 
that  even  in  a  convict  prison  a  man  of  principle 
and  energy  can  find  opportunities  to  educate 
himself  and  develop  his  character.  He  came  to 
the  front  at  once,  and  soon  was  recognised  as  the 
foremost  champion  of  the  Irish  peasantry  in  their 
land  war.  In  a  speech  at  Limerick  in  August, 
1879,  Parnell  proclaimed  the  gospel  of  refusing 
to  pay  any  rent  at  all  if  the  amount  which  the 


86  FROM   1867  TO  1880  [chap. 

farmers  chose  to  offer  was  refused.  And  to  give 
effect  to  this  policy,  the  Land  League  was 
established  a  couple  of  months  afterwards. 

The  principle  upon  which  the  League  was 
founded  shall  be  stated  in  Davitt's  own  words. 
"  It  was  the  complete  destruction  of  Irish 
landlordism,  first,  as  the  system  which  was 
responsible  for  the  poverty  and  periodical  famines 
which  have  decimated  Ireland;  and  secondly. 
because  landlordism  was  a  British  garrison  which 
haired  the  way  to  national  independence."  Lei 
the  reader  keep  these  words  in  mind  as  lie  reads 
the  sequel. 

Parnell  crossed  the  Atlantic  as  the  herald  of 
the  new  movement,  and  in  January,  1880,  he 
entered  on  a  campaign  arranged  and  controlled  by 
the  most  advanced  of  the  Fenian  leaders.  The 
projects  and  aims  of  these  men  were  now  known 
to  all  the  world.  They  had  been  brought  to 
light  by  the  Irish  State  Trials.  The  Fenian 
"  1 1 la t  form  "  was  the  realisation  of  Emmet's 
dream,  that  Ireland  should  "take  her  place 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth."  And  this,  not 
on  the  basis  on  which  Norway  was  a  kingdom, 
for  an  Irish  republic  was  to  be  established. 
\\ "ith  full  knowledge  of  these  projects,  and  in  a 
meeting  convened  by  the  men  who  Mere  pledged 
to  the  attainment  of  them.  Mr.  Parnell  used 
these  words:  "When  we  have  undermined 
English  misgovernment,  we  have  paved  the  way 


viii]  PARNELLS  SPEECH  87 

for  Ireland  to  take  her  place  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth.  And  let  us  not  forget  that  this  is 
the  ultimate  goal  at  which  all  we  Irishmen  aim. 
None  of  us,  whether  we  are  in  America  or  in 
Ireland,  or  wherever  we  may  be,  will  be  satisfied 
until  we  have  destroyed  the  last  link  which  keeps 
Ireland  bound  to  England." 

This  was  the  famous  Cincinnati  speech  of 
February  23,  1880.  In  "the  new  departure" 
Fenianism  made  no  surrender  to  the  Land 
League ;  it  merely  assumed  its  name. 


CHAPTER    IX 

FBOAJ    1880   TO   THE    KILMAINHAM    TREATY 

Though  Secret  Service  work  seems  to  have 
such  a  strange  fascination  for  many  people,  I 
have  always  felt  a  decided  aversion  to  it.  I 
was  drawn  into  it  reluctantly  at  first,  and  once 
and  again  I  tried  to  shake  free  from  it.  In 
the  beginning  of  1880  that  mood  was  strong 
upon  me.  When,  in  April,  the  change  of  Govern- 
ment occurred,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  succeeded 
Lord  Beaconsfield  as  Prime  Minister,  I  had  re- 
ceived  some  tempting  offers  of  both  professional 
and  literary  work,  and  I  was  contemplating 
taking  chambers  at  the  Temple.  I  refused, 
therefore,  to  allow  the  Under-Secretary  to  in- 
troduce me  in  the  usual  way  to  the  new  Secretary 
of  State. 

But,  "the  best  laid  schemes,"  etc.  Not 
tnany  weeks  passed  before  Sir  William  liar 
eourl  sent  for  me.  He  was  aware,  he  said,  of 
my  services  to  ( .o\  ei  ninenl  in  the  past,  and  he 
hoped  I  would  give  him  the  same  assistance  I 
had   rendered   to  his  predecessors.      I   am  bound 


chap,  ix]     ABOUT  INFORMANTS  89 

to  say  that  working  for  him  was,  on  the  whole, 
a  pleasant  experience.  He  was  the  "  biggest " 
man  with  whom  T  have  ever  had  close  personal 
dealings  in  the  public  service,  and  notwithstand- 
ing his  sharp  and  unruly  tongue,  he  was  at 
heart  a  thorough  gentleman.  He  was  always 
the  same,  moreover,  whether  sitting  in  his  office 
chair  at  Whitehall,  or  in  his  armchair  at  Grafton 
Street ;  and  if  I  got  on  better  with  him  than 
others  seemed  to  do,  it  was  because  I  always 
accepted  freely  the  place  he  gave  me,  and 
met  disagreeable  words  by  some  pleasantry,  or 
boldly  hit  back  at  him.  Once,  and  only  once, 
as  mentioned  on  a  preceding  page,  did  he  go 
further  than  I  could  tolerate.  The  incident  re- 
ferred to  in  my  Times  letter  related  to  my 
methods  of  dealing  with  informants. 

This  was  always  a  sore  point  with  Sir  William 
Harcourt.  "  Anderson's  idea  of  secrecy  is  not 
to  tell  the  Secretary  of  State,"  he  once  said  to 
one  of  his  colleagues,  fixing  his  eyes  on  me  as 
he  spoke.  And  it  was  quite  true.  The  first 
Fenian  who  ever  gave  me  information  was 
murdered  on  his  arrival  in  New  York.  I  had 
given  his  name  to  no  one  but  Lord  Mayo ;  and 
he  assured  me  that  he  had  mentioned  it  only 
to  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  when  sitting  alone  with 
him  after  dinner  at  the  Viceregal  Lodge.  But 
there  happened  to  be  a  servant  behind  the  screen, 
and  through  him  it  was,  as  the    Dublin   police 

N 


90  THE  KILMAINHAM  TREATY    [chap. 

ascertained,  that  the  information  reached  the 
Fenians.  Never  again  would  I  give  an  in- 
formant's name  to  any  one,  and  no  man  who 
afterwards  gave  me  information  was  ever 
betrayed. 

It  was  easy  to  keep  ones  own  counsel  on 
such  matters  when  dealing  with  a  Secretary  of 
Slate  on  purely  official  terms.  But  Sir  William 
Harcourt's  treatment  of  me  made  it  often  most 
difficult.  For  when  he  received  me  as  a  friend, 
and  kept  me  chatting  with  him,  it  might  be 
for  an  hour  at  a  time,  he  felt  hurt  at  my  re- 
ticence, and  sometimes  showed  that  he  resented 
it.  liut  when  the  life  of  an  informant  is  in- 
volved, no  amount  of  caution  is  excessive.  And 
Sir  William's  impulsiveness  made  caution  doubly 
necessary;  for  an  informant  may  be  betrayed 
even  by  an  imprudent  use  of  his  information. 

An  instance  of  this  recurs  to  me.  At  the 
time  when  it  occurred,  the  Fenian  organization 
in  London  was  governed  by  a  triumvirate,  and 
one  of  the  three  was  in  my  pay.  It  fell  upon 
;i  day  that  I  communicated  the  result  of  one  of 
their  secret  meetings,  held  the  night  before,  to 
Sir  William  I  Iarcourt  and  Sir  Adolplius  LiddelL 
The  same  afternoon  the  information  appeared  in 
an  evening  paper,  and  when  I  tackled  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  about  it,  he  replied  in  the  most 
matter-of-course  way,  that  "he  had  given  it  to 
,  as  he  wanted  to  take  a  rise  out  of  him  ;" 


ix]        FINDING  AN  INFORMANT        91 

naming  one  of  the  Irish  M.P.'s,  who  was  supposed 
to  be  in  the  secrets  of  the  conspiracy. 

The  manner  in  which  I  got  hold  of  that 
informant  may  be  worth  telling.  When  in 
1880  Sir  William  Harcourt  sought  my  help 
I  told  him  plainly  that  the  attitude  of  th 
Government  to  political  crime  had  always 
alternated  between  panic  and  indifference.  In 
troublous  times  informants  were  eagerly  sought 
for  ;  but  when  the  danger  was  over,  I  was  looked 
upon  as  a  k"  crank  "  for  urging  that  they  should 
be  kept  in  pay.  At  that  moment  I  was  out 
of  touch  with  Fenianism  at  home,  and  should 
need  to  begin  again  to  angle  for  information.  It 
is  never  very  difficult  to  get  inside  an  Irish  con- 
spiracy, and  I  was  not  long  in  finding  men  who 
could  tell  me  a  good  deal  of  what  was  doing. 
But  my  aim  was  to  get  at  the  head-quarters 
of  the  organization,  and  this  is  not  so  easily 
accomplished.  My  chance  came,  however.  The 
Fenians  knew  that  knowledge  of  their  proceed- 
ings was  reaching  Government,  and  one  of  the 
leading  men  determined  to  discover  the  leak. 
So  with  this  end  in  view  he  wrote  offering  in- 
formation, but  stipulating  expressly  that  he  would 
deal  only  with  the  head  of  the  department. 

The  night  I  met  the  fellow,  he  fenced  with 
me,  and  lied  to  me,  for  an  hour,  and  ended  by 
asking  for  his  "  expenses."  I  have  always  held 
that  a  man  who  carries  gold  loose  in  his  pocket 


92  THE  KILMAINHAM  TREATY   [chap. 

must  be  either  a  millionaire  or  a  spendthrift. 
But  I  was  playing  a  part  that  evening,  and  1 
had  my  pockel  lull  of  sovereigns.  I  pulled  out 
a  handful,  and  threw  half  a  dozen  of  them  on 
the  table.  And  then,  cheeking  myself,  I  picked 
them  up  again,  saying,  "No,  you  haven't  earned 
them:  you  don't  seem  to  know  half  as  much 
about  Fenianism  as  I  do  myself."  His  greedy 
look  as  the  gold  went  back  into  my  pocket 
showed  me  that  1  had  him.  So  I  gave  him 
a  couple  of  pounds,  and  told  him  not  to  come 
back  till  he  had  something  worth  telling.  A 
month  later  he  was  definitely  in  my  pay.  My 
first  care  was  to  make  him  procure  the  passing 
of  a  resolution  that  no  "  active  work"  should  be 
done  without  the  approval  of  the  whole  trium- 
virate; and  from  that  time  I  was  able  to  control 
the  organization. 

The  year  1880  was  made  memorable  by  the 
inauguration  of  "boycotting"  that  dreadful 
system  of  oppression  which  made  the  League  a 
terror  to  the  law-abiding  classes  in  so  many  parts 
of  Ireland.  In  its  inception  it  might  have  been 
easily  checked;  but,  as  Mr.  Morleys  book  tells 
us,  Mr.  Gladstone's  objection  to  coercing  those 
who  were  thus  coercing  their  honest  and  peace- 
ful neighbours,  w;is  a  bar  to  action.  It  was  not 
until  -the  ordinary  law"  had  been  found  in- 
adequate, by  the  failure  of  the  conspiracy  trial 
<>!'  the  Leaders,  that  Air.  Gladstone  was  overruled 


ix]    GLADSTONE'S  LEEDS  SPEECH     93 

by  the  Cabinet ;  and  when  Parliament  met  in 

January,  1881,  Mr.  Forster's  "  Suspects  Act "  was 
at  once  introduced  by  the  aid  of  the  Speaker's 
memorable  coup  (Trial  *  Davitt  was  arrested 
on  the  forfeiture  of  his  licence,  and  the  local 
leaders  of  the  League  were  committed  to  gaol 
under  the  Act.  This  brought  Miss  Anna  Par- 
nell  into  the  field ;  and  the  formation  of  the 
Ladies'  Land  League  outmanoeuvred  the  Govern- 
ment. What  the  issue  would  have  been  it  is 
hard  to  say,  had  not  the  course  of  events  been 
decided  by  the  historic  duel  between  Parnell 
and  the  Premier. 

On  October  7,  at  Leeds,  Mr.  Gladstone 
delivered  a  fierce  philippic  against  the  Irish 
leader. 

"  The  condition  of  Ireland  was  hopeful,"  he 
declared.  "  No  labouring  population  in  Europe 
had  made  such  progress  as  the  Irish  in  the 
twenty  years  preceding,  but  Mr.  Parnell  and 
his  agitation  stood  between  them  and  the  pros- 
perity which  the  Land  Act  would  certainly 
produce.  Mr.  Parnell  was  a  living  proof  that 
the  state  of  things  in  Ireland  was  coming  to  be 

*  The  attempt  to  introduce  the  Bill  was  met  by  organized 
obstruction.  After  the  debate  had  lasted  several  days,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone decided  to  force  it  through  by  a  continuous  sitting.  The  debate 
was  thus  sustained  during  the  night  of  Tuesday,  February  1,  but 
there  appeared  to  be  no  sign  of  its  ending  when  the  Speaker  resumed 
the  chair  next  morning  at  nine  o'clock.  Acting  on  his  own  initiative, 
therefore,  he  interrupted  Mr.  liiggar,  who  was  then  addressing  the 
House.,  and  at  once  put  the  question. 


94  THE  KILMAINHAM  TREATY   [chap. 

a  question  between  law  on  the  one  side,  and 
sheer  lawlessness  on  the  other.  Mr.  Parnell  had 
dared  to  proclaim  that  if  the  crown  of  England 
was  lo  be  the  link  between  the  two  countries, 
it  must  be  the  only  link.  But  he  warned  him 
that  the  'resources  of  civilization'  were  not  yet 
exhausted."* 

"Will  Mr.  Parnell  quail  before  the  colossal 
force  of  the  Prime  Minister's  invective?"  So 
asked  the  Times.  But  Mr.  Parnell  was  not  the 
man  to  quail.  His  answer  was  given  within 
eight  and  forty  hours.  In  a  speech  at  Wexford 
he  branded  the  Premier's  "  harangue  "  as  "  un- 
scrupulous and  dishonest,"  and  poured  contempt 
and  ridicule  on  his  "  brave  words."  He  com- 
pared them  to  the  whistling  of  a  schoolboy  on 
his  way  through  a  churchyard  at  night  to  keep 
his  courage  up. 

This  was  on  October  9.  The  Cabinet  met 
on  the  12th,  and  as  the  result  of  a  decision 
arrived  at  after  a  five  hours'  discussion,  the 
Irish  leader  was  arrested  next  morning,  and 
lodged  in  Kilmainham  gaol  under  Forster's  Act. 
Post  hoc,  was  the  comment  of  the  Liberals; 
propter  hoc,  the  taunt  of  the  Leaguers.  And 
the  Leaguer's  reply  was  to  issue  the  "No  rent" 
manifesto.     The   rejoinder  of  the   Government 

*  It  is  noteworthy  that,  in  citing  this  speech,  Mr.  Morley  makes 
no  reference  to  tin-  exceptional  and  advancing  prosperity  of  the 
li i-.li  people  under  the  Union. 


ix]    A  PHILIPPIC  BY  GLADSTONE    95 

was   to  suppress   the   League.     This  was   done 
on  the  18th. 

A  speech  by  Mr.  James  Lowther  supplied 
Mr.  Gladstone  with  a  text  for  another  philippic 
against^  Parnell.  The  ex-Chief  Secretary  had 
declared  that  "  the  party  headed  by  Mr.  Parnell 
commanded  the  support  of  the  majority  of  the 
people  of  Ireland."  With  what  enthusiasm 
would  Mr.  Gladstone  have  hailed  these  words 
a  few  years  later !  But  the  statement  was  in- 
tolerable at  the  moment  when  Mr.  Parnell  was 
caged  in  Kilmainham  gaol  as  a  pestilent  agitator, 
who  was  standing  between  the  Irish  people  and 
their  heaven-sent  benefactor. 

"  I  utterly  protest  against  it !  "  Mr.  Glad- 
stone exclaimed.  "  I  believe  a  greater  calumny, 
a  more  gross  and  injurious  statement  could  not 
possibly  be  made  against  the  Irish  nation.  We 
believe  we  are  at  issue  with  an  organized  attempt 
to  override  the  freewill  and  judgment  of  the  Irish 
nation.  ...  It  is  a  great  issue ;  it  is  a  conflict 
for  the  very  first  and  elementary  principles  on 
which  civil  society  is  constituted.  It  is  idle  to 
talk  of  either  law,  or  order,  or  religion,  or  civili- 
zation, if  these  gentlemen  are  to  carry  through 
the  reckless  and  chaotic  schemes  that  they  have 
devised.  Rapine  is  the  first  object,  but  rapine 
is  not  the  only  object.  It  is  perfectly  true  that 
these  gentlemen  wish  to  march  through  rapine 
to  disintegration  and  dismemberment  of  the 
empire." 


96  THE  KILMAINHAM  TREATY   [chap. 

"  Brave  words/'  truly  !  But  as  the  cynical 
Mr.  Parnell  must  have  thought,  the  whistling 
was  becoming  louder  because  the  ghosts  seemed 
to  be  drawing  nearer.  That  day  six  months 
Lord  Cowper  was  dismissed  to  make  room  for  a 
Viceroy  commissioned  to  govern  Ireland  on  the 
lines  of  the  Kilmainham  Treaty.*  Mr.  Parnell 
was  released  from  prison,  pledged  to  call  off  the 
|>aek  who  were  committing  outrages  throughout 
the  country,  and  to  support  Mr.  Gladstone  in 
Parliament  in  "  forwarding  Liberal  principles  ;  " 
and  Mr.  Gladstone  on  his  part  undertook  to 
adopt  the  programme  of  the  Land  League,  by 
promoting  what  the  League  would  "regard  as  a 
practical  settlement  of  the  land  question." 

What  account  can  be  given  of  a  transforma- 
tion scene  so  extraordinary?  Mr.  Morley's  book 
gives  a  part  of  the  story.  After  describing  the 
deplorable  condition  of  Ireland  in  April,  1882, 
he  adds :  "  \\  nile  the  Cabinet  was  face  to 
line  willi  this  ugly  prospect,  Mr.  Gladstone 
received  a  communication,  volunteered  by  an 
Irish  member,  as  to  the  new  attitude  of  Mr. 
Parnell,  and  the  possibility  of  turning  it  to  good 
account.  Mr.  Gladstone  sent  the  letter  on  to 
Forster,  replying  meanwhile  'in  the  sense  of  not 
shutting  the  door."  Mr.  Chamberlain,  he  goes 
on    to    narrate,    undertook    to   deal    with    "the 

Earl  Spencer  succeeded  Lord  Cowper  as  Lord  Lieutenant,  in 
May,  1882. 


ix]      GLADSTONES  SOMERSAULT      97 

emissary ; "  and,  as  the  result,  he  reported  to 
the  Cabinet  on  the  25th,  "  that  Mr.  Parnell  was 
desirous  to  use  his  influence  on  behalf  of  peace." 
"  Events  then  moved  rapidly,"  and  on  May  2 
the  Cabinet  accepted  a  proposal  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
to  release  the  suspects  and  to  allow  Forster's  Act 
to  lapse. 

But  is  this  an  adequate  explanation  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  amazing  somersault  ?  Wise  men, 
when  beaten  in  fair  fight,  accept  the  situation ; 
but  they  do  so  as  of  necessity  and  with  a  sense 
of  depression.  The  Cabinet  consented  to  the 
Kilmainham  treaty ;  but  they  did  so  with  re- 
luctance ;  for  it  was  not  with  a  light  heart  that 
they  allowed  Mr.  Forster  to  leave  them.  Mr. 
Gladstone,  on  the  other  hand,  as  Mr.  Morley's 
narrative  indicates,  shared  none  of  their  mis- 
givings or  regrets.  For  their  joint  decision  he 
must  have  had  grounds  of  his  own.  He  must 
have  come  under  some  influence  to  which  his 
colleagues  were  strangers.  What  can  it  have 
been  ?  No  hint  of  it  is  given  in  Mr.  Morley's 
pages.  But  the  secret  escaped  from  Mr. 
Gladstone's  own  lips  eleven  years  afterwards. 
Provoked  by  a  taunt,  in  the  course  of  the  Home 
Rule  debates  of  April,  1893,  he  interjected  the 
following  remark  with  reference  to  Mr.  Parnell 
and  his  release  from  prison  in  1882  : — 

"  From  that  date  forward  no  hard  word  and  no 

o 


98  THE  KILMAINHAM  TREATY  [chap. 

word  of  censure  in  any  speech  of  mine  respecting 
Mr.  Parnell  is  to  be  found.  On  the  contrary,  I 
made  a  communication  to  Mr.  Parnell  through  a 
friend  of  his,  that  from  me  he  would  receive  no 
difficulty  in  pursuing  the  purposes  he  had  in 
view,  which  from  that  period  I  believed  to  be 
purposes  beneficial  to  the  people  of  Ireland." 

This  extraordinary  statement  becomes  still 
more  extraordinary  in  the  light  of  Mr.  Morley's 
story.  For  he  clearly  implies  that  the  M.P. 
"emissary"  of  April,  1882,  tried  in  vain  to 
elicit  some  response  from  Mr.  Gladstone.  His 
ponderous  joke  about  Mr.  Chamberlain  "  taking 
his  life  in  his  hand"  in  dealing  with  this 
"  emissary,"  suggests  that  he  was  some  wild 
Irishman  with  a  shillelagh.  But  the  M.P.  in 
question  was  Captain  O'Shea,  whom  any  one 
«>t  I  lie  Ministers  might  have  met  on  the  ground 
of  social  equality.  And  this  adds  great  signifi- 
cance to  the  fact  that  the  Premier  refused  to  be 
"  drawn  "  by  him  in  any  way. 

"One  of  the  strangest  incidents  in  the  Home 
Rule  debates,"  Lord  Ashbourne  called  it  in  a 
•  I icaded  article"  which  he  contributed  to  a 
London  newspaper  at  the  time.  In  that  article 
he  appealed  to  the  acts  and  speeches  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  colleagues  in  proof  that  they  were 
ignorant  of  his  private  bargain  with  the  Irish 
leader.  If  it  had  not  been  a  profound  secret, 
Sir    William    Harcourt    would    certainly    have 


ix]        ASHBOURNE'S  QUESTIONS        99 

known  of  it.  But  that  he  did  not  know  of  it 
is  rendered  certain  by  his  speech  of  December  7, 
1885,  when  he  declared  that  he  would  let  the 
Tories  "stew  in  their  own  Parnellite  juice," 
adding  the  words,  "  and  when  they  stink  in  the 
nostrils  of  the  country,  then  the  country  will 
fling  them,  discredited  and  disgraced,  to  the  con- 
stituencies." There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
bargain  was  a  secret.  And  for  eleven  years  it 
remained  a  secret. 

"  Let  the  facts  be  realised,"  Lord  Ashbourne 
urged.  "  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  Prime  Minister  of 
England,  sends  a  '  communication '  to  the  leader 
of  the  Nationalist  party  in  Ireland,  whom  but  a 
short  time  before  he  imprisoned,  and  accused  of 
'  marching  through  rapine  to  the  disintegration 
of  the  Empire.'  It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate 
the  importance  of  the  positions  held  by  the 
sender  and  the  receiver.  The  'communication' 
itself  was  of  the  highest  significance,  and  of  the 
greatest  public  moment.  Why  was  it  never 
made  public  until  April,  1893  ?  Did  Mr. 
Gladstone  tell  his  colleagues  at  the  time  of  the 
message  ?  If  not,  why  not  ?  If  he  did,  why  was 
no  public  announcement  made  on  this  important 
subject  ? " 

The  significance  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  announce- 
ment is,  indeed,  immensely  increased,  first,  by  the 
fact  that  what  elicited  it  was  a  speech  by  Mr. 
Chamberlain,    who    had    conducted     the    open 


100  THE  KILMAINHAM  TREATY  [chap. 

negotiations  with  Captain  O'Shea  ;  and  secondly, 
by  Mi-.  Morley's  statement,  already  noticed,  that 
throughout  those  negotiations  "  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  always  impatient  of  any  reference  to 
'  reciprocal  assurances  '  or  '  tacit  understanding 
in  respect  of  the  dealings  with  the  prisoner  in 
Kilmainham."  But  here  is  evidence  from  the 
lips  of  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  that  there  were 
"  reciprocal  assurances "  of  the  most  definite 
kind,  and  an  "  understanding "  that  was  by  no 
means  "  tacit."  For  no  words  could  have  been 
more  explicit.  Lord  Ashbourne  might  well 
demand,  "  Who  was  the  friend  selected  for  this 
communication  ? "  It  must  have  been  some  one 
who  was  unreservedly  in  ParnelTs  confidence, 
and  some  one  with  whom  the  Premier  had 
immediate  personal  dealings. 

The  mystery  must  remain  unsolved,  unless 
my  private  information  of  other  days  may  afford 
a  solution  of  it.  Mr.  Morley's  narrative  brings 
me  fresh  proof  that  my  informant  was  behind  the 
scenes,  and  that  his  story  was  in  the  main  correct. 
But  there  was  one  part  of  it  which,  at  the  time,  I 
dismissed  as  a  romance,  albeit  it  was  given  me 
with  definite  details  of  place  and  circumstances. 
The  real  Kilmainham  treaty,  I  was  assured,  was 
not  the  work  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  "the  M.P. 
emissary":  the  parties  to  it  were  the  Prime 
Minister  himself  and  Mrs.  O'Shea.* 

*  Mr.  Morley  ignores  Mr. 'Justin  McCarthy's  share  in  the  treaty, 


xi]  GLADSTONE  AND  MRS.  O'SHEA  101 

The  story  may  at  first  seem  improbable,  but 
no  one  who  knew  Mr.  Gladstone  will  scout  it. 
For  one  of  his  most  striking  characteristics  was 
his  readiness  to  give  a  patient  and  earnest  hearing 
to  any  one  who  succeeded  in  interesting  him. 
And  when  I  read  Mr.  Gladstone's  words  in  the 
Home  Rule  debate  of  1893 — so  definite  in  the 
main,  so  strangely  vague  on  one  important  point — 
I  recalled  my  informant's  story.  And  I  recalled 
also  some  written  words  of  Parnell's  of  two  years 
before.  When  reproached  with  having  used 
Mrs.  O'Shea  as  an  intermediary  in  taking  a 
house  for  him  at  Eastbourne,  his  answer  was, 
"  I  asked  Mrs.  O'Shea  to  conduct  the  negotia- 
tions, for  the  same  reasons  that  I  have  charged 
her  with  the  conduct  of  vastly  more  important 
matter's  and  negotiations."  '* 

though  it  has  prominent  notice  in  Sir  T.  W.  Reid's  "  Life  of 
Forster,"  and  Mr.  Barry  O'Brien's  "Life  of  Parnell."  But  Mr. 
McCarthy  was  not  the  "  friend ''  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  statement. 

*  This  matter  arose  in  connection  with  a  libel  action  against  the 
Cork  Hera/din  1891,  and  the  letter  above  quoted  was  published  at 
the  time. 

The  above  pages  were  written  before  I  read  Mr.  Barry  O'Brien's 
book.  His  account  of  Mrs.  O'Shea's  share  in  the  treaty  is  clearly 
inconsistent  with  Mr.  Morley's  narrative  ;  and  I  have  good  reason 
for  adhering  to  what  I  have  written.  In  view  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
own  admissions,  I  might,  of  course,  rewrite  these  closing  paragraphs. 
But  I  prefer  to  leave  them  unaltered. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE    PHCENIX    PARK    MURDERS 

The  treaty  was  still  a  secret  when  the  tragedy 
of  May  6,  1 882,  changed  once  more  the  policy  of 
this  vacillating  Government.  On  the  morning 
of  that  day,  Lord  Spencer,  the  new  Viceroy, 
and  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish,  the  new  Chief 
Secretary,  arrived  in  Ireland,  commissioned  to 
hold  out  the  olive  branch  to  the  miscreants  of 
the  League.  That  same  evening  Lord  Frederick 
and  Mr.  Thomas  Henry  Burke,  the  permanent 
Under-Secretary,  were  murdered  in  the  Phoenix 
Park,  when  making  their  way  together  on  foot 
to  their  official  residences.  On  my  next  visit  to 
the  Viceregal  Lodge,  Lord  Spencer  called  my 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  scene  of  their 
murder  was  the  only  part  of  the  main  drive  of 
the  park  which  was  within  view  of  the  windows 
of  his  private  sitting-room. 

In  other  lands,  some  memorial  of  a  tragedy 
of  this  kind  would  mark  the  scene  where  it  was 
enacted;  and  for  a  time  a  roughly  drawn  cross, 
scored   upon  the  ground,  served   to  indicate  to 


chap  x]  MURDER  PLOTS  103 

visitors  the  spot  where  Burke  and  Cavendish 
were  murdered.  But  even  this  will  now  be 
sought  in  vain.  Every  trace  of  it  has  been 
deliberately  obliterated.  The  temper  of  the 
people  would  not  suffer  it.  The  men  who 
were  hanged  at  Manchester  for  the  murder 
of  Sergeant  Brett  are  reckoned  among  the 
martyrs  of  the  Irish  struggle  for  liberty.  But 
though  the  Government  officials  who  fell  in  the 
Phoenix  Park  came  by  their  death  in  that  same 
struggle,  they  fell  upon  the  wrong  side. 

The  lapse  of  years  has  not  lessened  my  wonder 
at  the  lack  of  ordinary  precautions,  by  which  this 
crime  was  made  possible.  For  the  authorities  at 
Dublin  Castle  had  ample  warnings  that  murder 
plots  were  rife.  Prominent  officials  were  marked 
out  for  assassination,  and  once  and  again  attempts 
to  waylay  them  had  been  made  by  the  very  men 
who  committed  the  murder  of  May  6.* 

My  brother's  life  was  saved  by  what  is 
popularly  called  "  a  chance."  As  appears  from 
the    evidence    before   the   Special    Commission, 

*  Lord  Spencer  escaped  the  assassin's  knife.  But  his  reception 
by  the  men  into'.jwhose  arms  he  wished  to  throw  himself,  may  be 
judged  by  the  following  extract  from  a  speech  by  Mr.  T.  M.  Healy, 
M.P.,  reported  in  United  Ireland,  August  30,  1884  :  "  Lord  Spencer 
had  come  to  govern  Ireland  with  impartial  justice,  but  no  more  unfor- 
tunate and  one-sided  Lord-Lieutenant  had  ever  afflicted  the  country. 
His  conduct  had  embittered  the  people.  He  had  shielded  criminals, 
rewarded  scoundrels,  and  hung  innocent  men.  He  had  served  the 
English  so  well  in  Ireland,  that  ho  suggested  he  should  be  raised  a 
step  in  the  peerage  with  the  appropriate  title  of  the  Duke  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah." 


104.     PHCENIX  PARK  MURDERS     [chap. 

Egan,  the  treasurer  of  the  Land  League,  wished 
to  have  him  "  put  out  of  the  way."  He  was 
methodical  in  his  habits,  and  his  habitual  route 
from  Green  Street  Court  House  to  his  office 
at  the  Castle  was  known  to  any  one  who  cared 
to  watch  him.  But  on  a  certain  day,  when 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  where  the  murder 
gang  were  waiting  for  him,  he  stopped  and, 
retracing  his  steps,  went  round  by  the  north 
side  of  Dublin.  He  had  suddenly  remembered 
some  commissions  which  he  had  promised  to 
execute  for  his  wife. 

It  was  by  a  like  "  chance  "  that  Mr.  Forster 
escaped  death  at  their  hands.     The  gang  actually 
stopped    his   carriage   on  the  way  to  Westland 
Row  Railway  Station,  but  they  found  that  two 
ladies    were    its    only    occupants.      When    the 
details   of  the   plot   reached   me,    I    asked    Mr. 
Forster   about   his   movements   on   the   day   in 
question.     He  told  me  he  had  driven  to  West- 
land  Row  with  his  wife  and  daughter  to  return 
to  London  by  the  Irish  Mail.      He  wanted  to 
know  why   I   made  the  inquiry,  but  I   parried 
the  question.     I  received  a  note  next  day  asking 
me  to   call ;    and    when    I  saw  him  he  showed 
me  an  extract  from  his  diary  which   reminded 
him  that  on    the   evening   in   question   he   had 
travelled  to  Kingstown  by  an  earlier  train,  dined 
at    the    St.    George's    Yacht    Club,    and   joined 
his  wife  and  daughter  on  the  steamer.     I  then 


x]        MR.  MORLEY'S  COMMENT         105 

gave  him  the  full  details  of  my  informant's 
statement.  His  reference  to  it,  when  I  met 
him  the  morning  after  the  murder  of  his 
successor,  I  am  not  likely  to  forget. 

Mr.  Burke  thus  fell  a  victim  to  one  of  the 
many  murder  plots  hatched  before  the  Kilmain- 
ham  treaty  was  negotiated ;  and,  as  Mr.  Morley 
tells  us,  "  the  assassins  did  not  know  Lord 
Frederick  Cavendish."  His  death  was  altogether 
an  accident.  "  Well  has  it  been  said  that 
Ireland  seems  the  sport  of  a  destiny  that  is 
aimless."  This  is  Mr.  Morley 's  comment  on 
the  crime.  In  this  brief  sentence  he  frames 
with  a  master's  hand  a  most  grave  indictment 
of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Irish  policy.  To  him  the 
chance  events  of  the  passing  day  were  what 
the  throw  of  the  dice  is  to  a  gambler.  Mr. 
Morley  treats  that  crime  as  though  it  was  an 
incident  which  could  not  have  been  foreseen, 
and  which  necessarily  turned  Mr.  Gladstone 
from  the  path  which  he  had  so  lately  entered. 
But  it  was  only  the  last  of  a  series — one  more 
added  to  the  terrible  list  of  the  Land  League 
murders. 

And  from  the  point  of  view  of  statesmanship 
it  was  of  far  less  significance  than  many  of  the 
murders  which  had  preceded  it.  For  the 
assassination  of  Government  officials  could  give 
no  such  indication  of  the  state  of  Ireland  as 
did  the  murder  of  a  lady  while  returning  home 

p 


106     PH(ENIX   PARK  MURDERS     [chap. 

from  church,  or  of  humble  peasants  whose  only 
offence  was  obedience  to  the  law.  The  element 
which  alone  distinguished  it  from  the  earlier 
crimes  was  that  the  chief  victim  was  a  colleague 
and  a  friend.  The  existence  of  this  particular 
murder  gang  and  of  their  plots  was  already 
known  to  the  Government.  The  assassination 
of  Mr.  Forster  and  Mr.  Burke  had  been  planned 
before  the  treaty  was  arranged,  and  Lord 
Frederick  Cavendish's  death  was  the  merest 
accident.  If,  therefore,  there  had  been  any 
real  statesmanship  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  administra- 
tion, the  Park  murder  would  have  been  regarded 
either  as  proof  that  the  Kilmainham  treaty 
policy  was  a  blunder,  or  else  as  a  further  reason 
for  pursuing  it. 

There  was  much  to  be  said  for  that  policy 
before;  there  was  more  to  be  said  for  it  now. 
Mere  was  a  wholly  unlooked-for  opportunity 
of  putting  Parnell  to  the  test.  Having  regard 
to  his  denunciation  of  the  Park  murderers  in 
Parliament  on  May  8,  if  he  had  opposed  the 
passing  of  a  Bill  limited  to  provisions  adequate 
to  bring  them  to  justice,  he  would  at  once 
have  proved  his  insincerity.  But  there  is  no 
reason  to  assume  that  he  was  insincere.  On 
the  contrary,  we  should  assume  that  he  would 
have  fulfilled  his  bargain,  by  setting  himself  to 
put  down  the  outrage  mongers  of  the  League. 
The   result    might  have  been,  perhaps,  that  he 


x]  A  POLICY  OF  DRIFT  107 

would  have  fallen  a  victim  to  the  vengeance 
of  his  quondam  followers.  Hut  on  the  other 
hand,  he  might  have  proved  himself  master,  and 
have  restored  peace  to  the  country. 

The  moment  was  opportune.  Before  May  G, 
life  and  property  were  insecure  throughout 
the  Ireland  of  the  Land  League ;  hut  after 
the  murder  there  was  a  lull,  during  which  the 
forces  of  violence  and  disorder  were  absolutely 
still.  The  account  which  magistrates  and  police 
gave  of  the  change  was  almost  dramatic.  Every 
man,  whether  a  Government  official  or  a  boy- 
cotted farmer,  became  free  to  go  about  his 
business  with  perfect  safety  by  day  or  by  nig] it. 
A  peace  crusade  at  such  a  time,  by  the  President 
of  the  body  which  fomented  the  outrages,  might 
have  proved  successful.  I  do  not  imply  that 
Parnell  was  the  instigator  of  them,  but  no  one 
will  dispute  that,  while  he  was  in  Kilmainham, 
every  act  of  violence  and  outrage  was  supposed 
and  intended  by  the  Leaguers  to  advance  his 
policy.  Hence  the  confidence  he  felt  in  his 
ability  to  fulfil  his  share  of  the  treaty. 

In  a  word,  either  Mr.  Forster's  policy  or  Mr. 
Gladstone's  might  have  succeeded,  if  allowed 
unhindered  scope  and  given  a  fair  field.  But  a 
policy  of  drift  and  compromise  was  bound  to 
fail.  An  incidental  disaster  does  not  lead  a 
general  to  change  his  plan  of  campaign.  But 
while,  one  day,  devotion  to  academic  doctrines 


108     PH(ENIX  PARK  MURDERS     [chap. 

about  governing  by  ordinary  law  led  the  Premier 
to  refuse  a  hearing  to  Mr.  Forster ;  the  next,  a 
chance  reverse  led  him  to  fling  these  doctrines 
to  the  winds,  and  to  promote  a  law  so  extra- 
ordinary as  to  astonish  Mr.  Forster  himself. 

For  Mr.  Gladstone's  "  Coercion  Act "  of 
1882  contained  provisions  unparalleled  since  the 
Union  delivered  Ireland  from  the  misgovernment 
and  tyranny  of  a  native  Parliament.  It  provided 
for  the  trial  of  crimes  of  the  gravest  kind,  in- 
cluding treason  and  murder,  by  a  tribunal  of 
three  judges  without  a  jury.  It  provided  for 
magisterial  inquiries  into  crimes  when  no  accused 
person  was  made  amenable — a  machinery  that 
availed  to  bring  the  Phoenix  Park  murderers  to 
justice.  And  in  addition  to  all  this,  it  contained 
the  most  elaborate  network  of  statutory  pro- 
visions against  combination,  as  distinct  from 
crime,  that  the  wit  of  man  could  devise.  Indeed, 
if  the  Act  had  been  strictly  construed  and 
enforced,  the  majority  of  the  adult  population  of 
Ireland  would  have  been  brought  within  its 
meshes.*      It    is    no  wonder   that   Mr.    Morley 

*;The  lUh  section  provides  that  "every  person  who  knowingly 
(a)  is  .1  member  of  an  unlawful  association  as  defined  by  tins  Act,  or 
(h)  take.-  part  in  the  operations  of  an  unlawful  association  as  defined 
by  this  Act,  or  of  any  meeting  thereof,  shall  be  guilty  of  an  offence 
against  1 1  ■  i  —  Act."  Then  section  .".»  defines  "  unlawful  association" 
to  mean  "an  association  formed  (a)  for  the  commission  of  crimes  ; 
or  (6) carrying  on  operations  for  or  by  the  commission  of  crimes  ;  or 
(c)  for  encouraging  or  aiding  persons  to  commit  crimes."  And  the 
section  goes  on  to  define  "  crime  "  as  including  "  any  offence  against 


x]    THE  LAND  LEAGUE  MURDERS  109 

dismisses  this  amazing  piece  of  "  coercion  "  legisla- 
tion with  the  briefest  and  most  casual  mention. 

The  Park  murder  was  indeed  a  hideous  crime. 
But  crimes  still  more  hideous  had  preceded  it. 
The  victims,  Mr.  Morley  tells  us,  were  "  brutally 
murdered."  But  to  refer  again  to  the  crimes 
already  noticed,  not  many  weeks  had  passed 
since  an  Irish  lady  had  been  "  brutally  murdered  " 
in  broad  daylight  on  her  way  home  from  church. 
In  the  previous  May  a  poor  Galway  farmer  was 
"  brutally  murdered  "  while  bringing  his  children 
to  Mass  on  a  Sunday  morning.  And  many 
others  had  been  "  brutally  murdered "  while  in 
humble  positions  discharging  their  duties  to  the 
State  as  really  as  were  the  Chief  and  Under- 
Secretaries.  The  fate  of  the  poor  Huddys  is  not 
forgotten  in  the  West.  Huddy  was  a  peasant 
bailiff  on  Lord  Ardilaun's  estate  in  Mayo.  He 
had  lived  there  in  peace  for  twenty  years.  On 
January  2,  1882 — four  months  before  the  murder 
in   the   Phoenix    Park — he    left    home   with    a 


this  Act."  To  understand  the  force  of  this,  we  must  turn  back  to 
section  7,  which  provides  that  every  person  who  " uses  intimidation  or 
incites  any  other  person  to  use  intimidation  .  .  .  shall  be  guilty  of  an 
offence  against  this  Act."  And,  to  complete  this  elaborate  network 
of  penal  enactments  aimed  against  combination  and  not  against 
crime,  "  intimidation'"  is  defined  to  include  "  any  word  spoken  or 
act  done  in  order  to  and  calculated  to  put  any  person  in  fear  of  any 
injury  or  danger  to  himself,  or  to  any  member  of  his  family,  or  to 
any  person  in  his  employment,  or  in  fear  of  any  injury  to  or  loss  of 
his  property,  business  or  means  of  living." 

Owing  to  the  unwillingness  of  the  Irish  Judges  to  undertake  the 
duty,  no  Special  Commission  of  Judges  was  appointed  under  the  Act. 


110     PHCENIX  PARK  MURDERS     [chap. 

nephew  to  serve  some  processes.  The  men 
never  returned,  and  their  family  could  get  no 
tidings  of  them,  though  their  fate  was  known  to 
all  the  neighbours.  Three  weeks  later  their 
battered  corpses  were  discovered.  They  had 
been  "brutally  murdered;"  done  to  death  like 
dogs. 

But  no  mere  list  of  these  crimes  would 
convey  an  adequate  impression  of  the  horrors  of 
the  Land  League  rule  in  Ireland.  In  many 
districts  terror  reigned  in  every  cottage  home 
that  refused  allegiance  to  what  was  fitly  called 
"  the  de  facto  Government."  But  so  long  as  the 
Irish  were  the  only  victims,  Downing  Street  was 
philosophical  and  calm. -^  It  was  not,  I  again 
repeat,  until  a  friend  and  colleague  was  struck 
down  that  Mr.  Gladstone  awoke  to  a  sense  of 
the  responsibilities  and  duties  of  a  Governments 
This,  at  least,  was  the  way  the  Irish  read  the 
facts.  And  the  loyalists  felt,  as  they  feel  to  the 
present  hour,  that  the  executions  which  followed 
did  not  satisfy  the  claims  of  justice,  but  that, 
while  the  murderers  hung  upon  the  gallows,  the 
Prime  Minister  ought  to  have  been  exposed 
beside  them  in  the  pillory.* 

The    Park    murders  were   the   work   of  the 

officials  of  the  Land  League,  of  which  Parnell 

was  the  President  and  Davitt  the  founder.     Rut 

their  hands  were  clean.     For  while  these  plots 

■  See  Appendix,  Note  I.  ;  p.  209,  post. 


x]    COMPLICITY  OF  THE  LEAGUE    111 

were  hatching,  Parnell  was  under  lock  and  key 
in  Kilmainham,  and  Davitt  was  buried  in  a 
convict  prison.  And  two  days  after  the  crime 
was  committed,  Parnell  denounced  it  in  frank, 
bold  language  in  the  House  of  Commons  ;  while 
to  the  honour  of  the  founder  of  the  League  it 
ought  to  be  recorded  that  the  first  use  he  made 
of  his  liberty  on  his  release  from  prison  was  to 
call  at  Scotland  Yard,  to  declare  his  readiness  to 
help  in  bringing  the  murderers  to  justice. 

But  the  knives  by  which  Cavendish  and 
Burke  were  murdered  were  bought  with  money 
provided  by  the  League,  through  the  agency  of 
Frank  Byrne,  the  Secretary  of  the  League.  And 
by  Byrne  they  were  kept  for  a  time  in  the  office 
of  the  League — one  of  the  rooms  rented  by  the 
Irish  Parliamentary  Party  in  Palace  Chambers, 
Bridge  Street,  Westminster.  Frank  Byrne's 
wife  it  was  who  carried  them  to  Ireland.  The 
scoundrel  Carey,  to  whom  she  handed  them, 
knew  her  well ;  and  the  one  touch  of  sentiment 
in  his  evidence  was  his  refusal  to  identify  her. 
As  soon  as  the  authorities  began  to  unravel  the 
plot,  Frank  Byrne  and  the  other  officials  of  the 
League  fled  to  France.  The  League  afterwards 
supplied  money  to  enable  them  to  cross  the 
Atlantic.  It  was  to  Byrne's  sister  that  Egan, 
the  Treasurer — who  himself  became  a  fugitive 
from  justice — entrusted  the  £200  paid  for  this 
purpose. 


112     PHCENIX  PARK  MURDERS     [chap. 

I  have  good  cause  to  remember  the  night 
that  the  money  reached  London.  A  bitter 
winter  night  it  was,  in  February,  1883.  1  was 
going  to  bed,  when  one  of  my  satellites  came  to 
report  the  matter  to  me.  I  drove  at  once  to 
Grosvenor  Square,  to  place  the  business  in  the 
hands  of  my  friend  who  then  ruled  at  Scotland 
Yard.  He  left  his  bed  to  see  me.  "  I  was  far 
more  competent  to,  etc.,  etc.,  than  he ;  he'd  send 
orders  to  the  Office  delegating  his  powers  to 
me  for  the  occasion.  Wouldn't  I,  etc.,  etc."  To 
use  an  Irish  phrase,  Howard  Vincent  could  talk 
a  bird  off  a  bush.  No  one  could  refuse  him 
anything.  In  a  weak  moment  I  consented. 
And  so  keen  was  I  that  I  went  out  with  the 
officers  whom  I  "put  on  the  job."  If  I  had 
possessed  official  authority,  I  might  have  got 
that  money.  But  many  of  the  Scotland  Yard 
officers  know  more  law  than  some  men  who 
live  by  the  practice  of  it;  and  a  knowledge  of 
law  is  apt  to  make  people  timid.  Their  desire 
to  help  me  was  as  great  as  when  I  afterwards 
became  their  official  chief.  But  I  was  not  their 
chief,  and  that  made  all  the  difference.  So  when 
I  got  back  home,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
I  had  taken  nothing  but  the  worst  cold  I  ever 
had  in  my  life,  a  cold  from  the  effects  of  which 
I  am  still  suffering. 

My  knowledge  of  Sir  William  Harcourt  led 
me   to  keep   out   of  his  way   next    day.      But  I 


x]  AT  LADY  HARCOURT'S  113 

had  to  face  him  in  the  evening,  for  I  was  invited 
to  a  party  at  7,  Grafton  Street.  I  went  late, 
thinking  that  the  presence  of  Lady  Harconrt's 
guests  would  bar  an  opportunity  for  "talking 
shop."  Vain  hope !  He  tackled  me  the  moment 
I  appeared  in  the  drawing-room,  without  even 
taking  me  aside.  "  Why  had  I  not  seized  that 
money  ? "  I  pleaded  that  the  law  was  against 
me.  The  "  Bah  !  "  with  which  he  turned  away 
from  me  made  me  feel  that  I  had  fallen 
grievously  in  his  esteem. 

But  to  resume.  The  Phcenix  Park  murder 
was  instigated  by  officials  of  the  Land  League.* 
Of  this  I  obtained  clear  and  cogent  proof. 
Was  it  known  to  Farnell  ?  I  can  only  say  that 
he  was  one  of  many  whose  opportunities  of 
knowing  everything  were  vastly  better  than 
mine.  The  charge  against  him  is  "  not  that  he 
himself  either  directly  planned  or  perpetrated 
outrages  and  murders,  but  that  he  either  con- 
nived at  them,  or  that,  warned  by  facts  and  state- 
ments, he  determined  to  remain  in  ignorance." 

*  Working  behind  the  scenes,  I  promoted  an  agitation  for  an 
audit  of  the  Land  League  funds,  but  no  audit  was  ever  obtained. 
There  was  a  nominal  audit,  indeed,  by  Mr.  John  Dillon,  M.P.,  Mr. 
Matthew  Harris,  M.P.,  and  Father  Sheehy,  a  priest.  But  it  was  a 
transparent  sham.  No  attempt  was  made  to  test  the  genuineness  of 
vouchers,  or  the  application  of  the  money  covered  by  them.  During 
the  three  years  ending  October,  1882,  the  receipts  acknowledged  by 
Egan  amounted  to  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  sterling — the  exact 
amount  was  £244,820 — of  which  fourrfifths  came  from  America. 
And  of  this  total  over  £100,000  has  never  been  accounted  for  (see 
p.  141,  post). 

Q 


114     PHCENIX   PARK   MURDERS     [chap. 

These  words,  spoken  by  Mr.  Forster  in 
February,  1883,  might  be  written  across  the 
cheque  which,  in  that  very  month,  Mr.  Parnell 
sent  to  Frank  Byrne  at  Westminster— -a  remit- 
tal ice  which  enabled  him  to  leave  the  country, 
and  escape  the  gallows.  Conclusive  proof  of 
their  truth  was  afterwards  supplied,  when  the 
documents  of  the  Kilmainham  treaty  were 
dragged  to  light  at  the  Special  Commission. 
How  could  Parnell  promise  to  stop  the  com- 
mission of  crime  ?  It  was  because,  as  Mr.  Glad- 
stone declared  in  memorable  words,  "Crime 
dogged  the  steps  of  the  Land  League."  Being 
well  aware  that  the  crimes  were  the  work  of 
the  paid  officials  of  the  League,  Parnell  believed 
that  he  could  influence  and  control  these  men. 

These  documents  are  damning  evidence  not 
only  against  Parnell,  but  against  the  Premier. 
It  was  no  wonder  that  Mr.  Gladstone  feared 
the  production  of  them,  and  commissioned  Sir 
William  Harcourt  to  negotiate  their  destruction.* 
What  may  have  been  the  contents  of  those 
which  were  actually  destroyed  in  compliance 
with  his  request  is  a  matter  of  conjecture  ;  it 
was  by  accident  that  any  of  them  escaped. 

No  reference  to  these  matters  will  be  found 

in  Mr.  Morley's  book.     It  was  for  him  a  personal 

triumph  when  Mr.  Gladstone  became  a  convert 

to  the  views  he  has  always  held  about  Ireland, 

*  See  Captain  O'Shca's  evidence  at  the  Sj>e<  ial  Commission. 


x]     A  TRIBUTE  TO  MB.  FORSTER     115 

and  he  is  silent  respecting  everything  that  dis- 
credits them.  This,  moreover,  leads  him  to  do 
injustice  to  one  than  whom  I  have  known  few 
abler  men  in  public  life,  and  none  more  upright. 
Having  enjoyed  Mr.  Forster's  confidence  in  an 
exceptional  degree,  I  can  aver,  from  personal 
knowledge,  that  his  work  in  Ireland  was  em- 
barrassed by  that  want  of  the  Premier's  sympathy 
and  support,  to  which  Mr.  Morley's  narrative 
bears  testimony.  And  my  surprise  was  not  that 
he  resigned  when  he  did,  but  that  he  remained 
in  office  so  long.  He  generally  got  his  way,  but 
it  was  after  a  struggle  ;  and  action  which  might 
have  succeeded  if  taken  promptly  often  came 
too  late.* 

*  And  though  Sir  William  Harcourt  was  no  enemy  to  strong 
measures,  yet,  for  some  reason  or  other,  he  and  Mr.  Forster  did  not 
get  on  well  together.  "  I'd  rather  you  didn't  mention  this  to 
Forster,"  "  It  might,  perhaps,  be  as  well  not  to  say  anything  of  this 
to  Sir  William  Harcourt."  Admonitions  of  this  kind  from  one  or 
other  of  them  made  my  position  at  times  a  delicate  and  difficult  one. 

As  regards  the  connection  between  the  Invincibles  and  the  Land 
League,  see  App.  Note  II.,  p.  210,  post. 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE    IRISH    NATIONAL    LEAGUE 

The  Irish  National  League  was  established  at 
a  conference  in  Dublin  on  October  17,  1882 — 
the  anniversary  of  the  suppression  of  the  Land 
League.  An  altercation  which  occurred  at  the 
meeting  seemed  to  indicate  that  while  certain 
leading  Parnellites  wished  to  give  prominence 
to  the  Fenian  "  platform,"  Davitt  was  being 
drawn  away  from  it  by  his  desire  to  help  the 
peasantry.  As  the  result,  however,  the  Fenian 
influence  prevailed,  and  "  Land  Law  Reform " 
was  relegated  to  the  second  place,  "  National 
Self-Government "  being  forced  to  the  front. 

Not  local  self-government :  that  was  ex- 
pressly included  in  the  programme,  but  it  was 
made  altogether  subordinate.  And  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  prominence  thus  given  to  the 
demand  for  self-government  in  the  fullest  sense, 
depended  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  reference  to  the 
subject  in  his  speech  upon  the  Address  on 
February  9.  "  Of  one  thing  1  am  well  con- 
\inced,"  he  declared,  "that  neither  this  House 


chap,  xi]         MR.  GLADSTONE  117 

of  Commons,  nor  any  House  which  may  succeed 
it,  will  at  any  time  assent  to  any  measure 
by  which  the  one  paramount  central  authority 
necessary  for  holding  together  in  perfect  union 
and  compactness  this  great  Empire,  can  possibly 
be  in  the  slightest  degree  impaired." 

And  the  plain  meaning  of  this  statement  was 
made  still  plainer  by  the  concluding  sentence  of 
his  speech,  which  was  as  follows : — 

"  We  are  most  favourable  to  the  introduction, 
rightly  understood,  of  principles  of  local  govern- 
ment into  Ireland ;  but  as  to  the  purpose  lion, 
members  have  in  view,  they  cannot  take  the  first 
step — they  cannot  establish  one  foot  of  ground 
upon  which  to  address  their  argument  to  the 
House  of  Commons — until  they  have  produced 
a  plan  by  which  it  is  distinctly  set  forth  by  what 
authority  and  machinery  they  mean  to  divide 
between  Imperial  and  local  questions,  so  as  to 
give  satisfaction  to  members  of  this  House  upon 
its  first  and  most  prominent  duty,  namely,  that 
of  maintaining  the  supremacy  of  the  Imperial 
authority  for  every  practical  object  relating  to 
the  interests  and  purposes  of  this  great  country." 

The  daring  programme  of  the  League  was 
the  answer  to  this  challenge.  The  proceedings 
of  the  Convention  were  public,  and  prudence  was 
studiously  observed.  It  is  to  America  that  we 
must  look,  therefore,  for  a  fuller  insight  into  the 
real  character  of  the  movement. 


118     IRISH  NATIONAL  LEAGUE    [chap. 

And  here  a  brief  retrospect  is  necessary. 
"  The  new  departure "  had  been  adopted  in 
August,  1881,  at  an  unusually  secret  meeting 
of  the  secret  Fenian  organization,  held  in 
Chicago.  In  pursuance  of  the  scheme  then 
adopted,  a  public  "  Irish  National  Convention " 
was  summoned  for  the  following  November. 
The  first  signature  to  the  circular  issued  for 
that  purpose  was  that  of  Patrick  Ford  of  the 
Irish  World  newspaper,  the  founder  of  the 
infamous  "skirmishing  fund"  of  which  so  much 
was  heard  in  those  years.  Early  in  1881,  more- 
over, this  man  had,  in  the  columns  of  his  paper, 
proclaimed  the  object  of  that  fund  to  be  the 
promotion  of  incendiary  fires  and  dynamite 
outrages  in  this  country.  According  to  the 
newspapers,  the  other  signatories  were  a  number 
of  prominent  American  Fenians,  and  Mr.  T.  P. 
O'Connor,  M.P.,  and  Mr.  T.  M.  Healy,  M.P., 
who  were  in  the  United  States  at  the  time,  and 
who  attended  the  Convention.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, from  their  evidence  at  the  Special  Com- 
mission, that  these  gentlemen  were  the  dupes 
of  a  plot  to  identify  them  with  the  proceedings 
of  the  American  Fenian  movement.  In  other 
words,  they  sought  to  explain  away  their 
action. 

At  this  Convention  it  was  that  the  Irish 
Land  League  of  America  was  established.  Of 
the   second    'annual   Convention,"  held  in   the 


xi]    CLAN-NA-GAEL  CONVENTION    119 

following  year,  I  need  not  speak.  But  to  the 
third  annual  Convention,  held  in  Philadelphia 
in  April,  1883,  I  wish  to  call  special  attention. 
For  at  this  meeting  the  fugitives  of  the  Dublin 
murder  conspiracy  were  present,  and  the  League 
was  reconstituted  on  the  lines  laid  down  at 
the  Dublin  Convention  of  the  preceding  year. 
Adequate  steps  were  taken,  I  may  add,  to  keep 
the  new  movement  entirely  under  the  control 
of  the  "  Clan-na-Gael,"  as  the  secret  Fenian 
organization  was  then  called.  As  Brennan,  the 
quondam  secretary  of  the  suppressed  Irish  Land 
League,  expressed  it,  "They  must  continue  on 
the  lines  in  which  they  had  started,  till  the  last 
vestige  of  landlordism  and  foreign  rule — the  twin 
gaolers  of  the  Irish  race — are  swept  out  of  the 
country." 

The  "call"  for  the  Convention,  which  was 
signed  by  Egan  and  two  of  the  Clan-na-Gael 
leaders,  declared  the  main  object  of  the  congress 
to  be,  to  make  "efforts  to  recover  for  our  mother- 
land the  God-given  and  inalienable  right  of 
national  independence,"  and  with  this  view  "to 
blend  into  one  organization  all  the  Irish  societies 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  the  new 
organization  to  be  affiliated  with  the  Irish 
National  League  of  Ireland,  of  which  Charles 
Stewart  Parnell  is  the  President." 

The  men  of  this  Convention  were  the  same 
Clan-na-Gael    leaders    who    had    arranged    and 


L20     IRISH  NATIONAL  LEAGUE     [chap. 

financed  ParnelTs  campaign  three  years  before, 
and  by  whom  his  famous  "last  link"  Cincinnati 
speech  was  treasured  as  a  watchword.  But 
every  Clan-na-Gael  lodge  was  ostensibly  a 
"  mutual  benefit  society,"  with  a  public  name ; 
and  in  compliance  with  secret  instructions,  every 
delegate  was  thus  accredited  as  the  representative 
of  a  recognised  society.  The  leaders  thus  secured 
the  control  of  the  Convention,  while  keeping 
their  secret  organization  entirely  out  of  right. 

The  chair  was  taken  by  the  notorious  Alex- 
ander Sullivan  of  Chicago,  the  Fenian  "  boss." 
According  to  the  "  official  report,"  he  read  a 
message  from  Parnell,  advising  moderation,  as 
he  said,  "  to  enable  us  to  continue  to  accept  help 
from  America."  The  message  added,  "  I  have 
perfect  confidence  that  by  prudence,  moderation, 
and  firmness  the  cause  of  Ireland  will  continue 
to  advance,  and  though  persecution  rests  heavily 
upon  us  at  present,  before  many  years  have 
passed  we  shall  have  achieved  the  great  objects 
for  which  through  many  centuries  our  race  has 
struggled." 

Now  the  struggle  of  "  many  centuries  "  does 
not  point  to  a  repeal  of  the  legislative  union 
with  Ireland,  neither  would  it  be  ended  by  any 
scheme  of  Gladstonian  Home  Rule.  It  reaches 
back  to  a  remoter  past,  and  its  aim  is  the 
realisation  of  ParnelTs  memorable  words  at 
Cincinnati,  "None  of  us  will   be  satisfied   until 


xi]  A  FENIAN  GREETING  121 

we  have   destroyed   the   last   link   which   keeps 
Ireland  bound  to  England." 

And  the  meaning  put  upon  the  language 
of  this  message  by  those  who  heard  it,  is  made 
clear  by  the  words  in  which  Sullivan  ended  his 
brief  opening  speech—"  In  the  spirit  in  which 
Robert  Emmet  died,  we  live.  In  his  words, 
we  are  'determined  upon  delivering  our  native 
country  from  the  yoke  of  a  foreign  and  unre- 
lenting tyranny,'  and  '  to  place  her  independence 
beyond  the  reach  of  any  power  on  earth.' " 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Convention  was 
to  send  a  cablegram  to  Parnell,  greeting  him  as 
their  "  esteemed  and  honoured  leader,"  and  pro- 
mising "hearty  support  to  his  platform  and 
policy."  The  proceedings  throughout  were 
engineered  by  caucus  meetings  of  the  Clan-na- 
Gael,  and  all  went  smoothly,  in  spite  of  attempts 
made  by  the  dynamiters  to  give  trouble.  If 
these  men  had  been  allowed  a  hearing,  Parnell 
would  have  been  unable  "to  accept  help  from 
America."  So  they  were  silenced  by  formal 
promises,  privately  given,  that  "  the  good  work  " 
they  had  in  hand  would  not  be  neglected. 
Londoners  can  testify  how  faithfully  these 
promises  were  kept. 

Alexander  Sullivan,  the  head  of  the  Clan- 
na-Gael,  whose  discreditable  antecedents  were 
described  by  Le  Caron  at  the  Special  Commission, 
was  appointed   President   of  the   new   League. 

R 


122     IRISH  NATIONAL  LEAGUE    [chap. 

His  election  was  a  pretty  piece  of  by-play. 
When  his  name  was  proposed,  he  "  obtained  the 
floor,  and  declined  being  a  candidate."  But,  in 
accordance  with  the  game  arranged  at  a  secret 
meeting  the  night  before,  the  Convention  insisted 
on  putting  his  name  on  the  list.  And,  of  course, 
he  was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  Again, 
however,  he  "  firmly  declined  the  honour,"  but 
yielded  at  last  to  the  entreaties  of  Mrs.  Parnell, 
the  mother  of  their  "  honoured  and  esteemed 
leader,"  who  urged  him  "in  elegant  language" 
to  accept  the  post. 

The  promises  given  to  the  outrage  mongers 
at  this  Convention  were  faithfully  kept.  A 
secret  circular  was  issued  directing  the  institution 
of  "  schools  for  the  manufacture  of  explosives." 
And  another  followed  it,  containing  the  assurance 
that  "  most  important  measures  were  being 
organized  and  put  in  progress."  This  referred 
to  the  mission  of  the  dynamiter,  Gallagher,  and 
his  confederates,  who  were  already  in  this  country 
upon  the  infamous  errand  which  earned  for  them 
life  sentences  of  penal  servitude. 

At  the  second  annual  Convention  of  the  Irish 
National  League,  which  was  held  in  Boston  in 
August,  1884,  the  Secret  Fenian  organization  was 
again  supreme  ;  and  when  Alexander  Sullivan,  the 
head  of  that  organization,  refused  re-election  as 
president,  his  place  was  filled  by  the  appointment 
of  Patrick  Egan.     The  M.P.'s  who  represented 


xi]  THE  MR  DELEGATES  123 

the  Irish  parliamentary  party  on  this  occasion 
were  Mr.  Sexton,  and  Mr.  W.  E.  Redmond,  the 
brother  and  colleague  of  the  present  leader  of  the 
Nationalist  party  in  Parliament.  And  they 
heard  their  quondam  friend  of  the  Land  League 
described  by  his  proposers  as  "  that  patriotic,  that 
heroic  exile  for  the  sake  of  Mother  Ireland." 
The  cause  of  his  exile  has  been  explained  in  these 
pages. 

The  following  extracts  from  their  speeches  at 
the  Convention,  taken  from  the  "official  report," 
may  fitly  bring  this  chapter  to  a  close.  After 
referring  to  the  miscreant  Alexander  Sullivan  as 
"  a  man  who  does  honour  to  the  race  from  which 
he  sprung,"  and  "  a  man  of  whom  any  race  might 
be  proud,"  Mr.  Sexton  used  these  words :  "  We 
are  now  approaching  the  verge  of  a  settlement 
which  .  .  .  will  render  it  impossible  for  any 
Government  any  longer  to  delay  or  to  defeat 
our  claim  for  national  independence."  And 
here  is  the  concluding  sentence  of  Mr.  W.  E. 
Redmond's  address :  "  Come  what  may,  we  will 
work  as  long  as  we  have  life  for  the  consum- 
mation of  that  object  for  which  our  fathers 
worked  far  more  bitterly  than  we  may  be  called 
upon  to  work,  until  we  have  made  Ireland  a 
nation,  and  given  her  a  harp  without  a  crown." 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE    DYNAMITE    CAMPAIGN 

The  spring  of  1882  seemed  to  promise  me 
another  opportunity  of  escaping  from  Secret 
Service  work.  For  I  was  aware  of  the  Premier's 
attitude  toward  Mr.  Forster  and  his  policy,  and 
of  the  communications  which  ended  with  the 
Kilmainham  treaty.  And  I  began  to  look 
forward  to  a  holiday  such  as  I  had  not  enjoyed 
for  years. 

Hut  the  Phcenix  Park  murders  changed  all 
that,  and  when  Colonel  Brackenbury  *  was 
appointed  to  office  at  Dublin  Castle,  as  Under- 
Secretary  for  Police  and  Crime,  he  called  on 
me  at  Whitehall  to  claim  my  help.  I  refused 
his  appeal,  and  adhered  to  my  refusal  when  he 
returned  a  second  time  to  press  it  upon  me. 
Hut  I  had  to  give  way  at  last.  He  convinced 
Sir  William  Harcourt  that  it  was  essential  to 
have  me  to  represent  his  department  in  London  ; 
and  to  the  pressure  thus  brought  to  bear  upon 
me  I  was  obliged  to  yield. 

*  Now  (ieneral  Sir  Henry  Brackenbury,  6.C.B. 


chap,  xii]    OUTRAGES  IN  LONDON     125 

My  official  relations  with  Colonel  Bracken- 
bury  were  altogether  pleasant,  unmarred  by  a 
hitch  of  any  kind.  But  his  tenure  of  office  was 
unfortunately  brief;  and  the  years  that  followed 
brought  me  a  good  deal  of  worry  and  not  a  little 
anxiety.  London  Fenianism,  though  more  for- 
midable than  in  18G7,  was  a  negligible  quantity, 
for  I  had  the  organization  practically  "  in  my 
pocket."  But  the  dynamite  plots  of  that  era 
were  cause  for  grave  concern.  O 'Donovan 
Rossa  has  some  events  in  this  line  to  his  credit, 
though  his  own  estimate  of  his  share  is  grossly 
exaggerated.  But  the  dynamite  crusade  of  the 
great  Clan-na-Gael  organization  of  America  was 
formidable — a  crusade  that  dated  from  the 
Chicago  Convention  of  1881,  at  which  the  New 
Departure  policy  of  working  in  union  with  the 
Parnellites  was  formally  adopted.  This  organi- 
zation it  was  which  despatched  Gallagher  and  his 
confederates,  who  were  convicted,  and  received 
life  sentences,  in  May,  1883,  and  Mackay 
Lomasney,  who  was  blown  to  pieces  in  attempt- 
ing to  wreck  London  Bridge  on  December  13, 
1884 — the  anniversary  of  the  Clerkenwell  ex- 
plosion of  1867. 

Some  one  may  ask,  perhaps,  why  was  it,  if 
the  designs  of  a  criminal  conspiracy  can  be 
checked  in  the  manner  I  have  indicated  in  these 
pages,  that  the  schemes  of  the  dynamiters  were 
not  thwarted  ?     Many  things  may  be  said  upon 


12<>  THE  DYNAMITE  CAMPAIGN   [chap. 

this.  The  dynamite  outrages  are  remembered, 
but  it  is  probably  forgotten  how  many  of  the 
criminals  were  brought  to  justice.  No  fewer 
than  thirty-two  of  these  miscreants  were  con- 
victed and  sentenced  to  long  terms  of  penal 
servitude,  seventeen  of  them  receiving  life 
sentences. 

Then,  again,  the  public  know  nothing  of  the 
many  plots  that  were  foiled.  Two  of  these  I 
single  out  for  mention  because  of  their  peculiar 
heinousness.  A  Fenian,  who  was  arrested  with 
bombs  in  his  possession,  and  who  earned  a  life 
sentence  in  1884,  had  planned  the  destruction  of 
the  Parliamentary  leaders  on  both  sides  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  His  intention  was  to  fling 
a  bomb  upon  the  table  while  the  House  was  in 
session.  After  his  conviction  one  of  his  bombs 
was  exploded  experimentally,  in  order  to  gauge 
what  its  probable  effect  would  have  been ;  and 
Sir  Vivian  Majendie  assured  me  that  no  one 
sitting  near  the  table  could  have  escaped  a 
terrible  death.  Another  plot,  the  full  history 
of  which  I  will  not  at  present  disclose,  was  still 
more  horrible.  It  included  another  attempt 
upon  the  House  of  Commons,  but  it  was 
specially  aimed  at  Queen  Victorias  Jubilee  cele- 
bration in  Westminster  Abbey  in  1887.* 


*  The  credit  of  baffling  and  entirely  preventing  the  execution  of 
that  |>lot  belongB  t<>  Mr.  James  Monro,  C.B.,  at  that  time  Assistant- 
<  ommissioner  of  Police  at  Scotland  Yard. 


xn]     THE  EXPLOSIVES  ACT,  1883     127 

I  would  say  plainly,  moreover,  that  it  was  not 
until  the  Government  had  been  roused  by  the 
earlier  crimes  of  the  dynamite  era  that  measures 
were  adopted  adequate  to  cope  with  this  branch 
of  the  conspiracy. 

The  uniformed  police  upon  the  streets  can 
deal  with  ordinary  law-breakers,  but  they  are 
wholly  incompetent  to  grapple  with  the  crime 
plots  of  professional  criminals.  And  the  attempt 
to  deal  with  crime  of  the  kind  here  in  view, 
under  "  ordinary  law  "  and  by  ordinary  methods, 
is  the  merest  trifling.  Thanks  to  Sir  William 
Harcourt,  however,  we  are  not  dependent  on 
ordinary  law.  We  now  enjoy  the  protection 
of  a  measure  which,  to  borrow  the  jargon  of 
the  Irish  controversy,  may  )  2  described  as  a 
"  Coercion  Act "  of  drastic  severity.  I  refer 
to  the  Explosives  Act,  1883.  This  statute  has 
made  dynamiting  dangerous.  And  if  it  be 
combined  with  counterplot  work  of  the  kind 
necessary  in  coping  with  organized  crime  of 
any  sort,  its  operation  becomes  absolutely 
deterrent. 

But  in  England  the  spirit  of  the  law  is  too 
often  sacrificed  to  its  forms.  The  rules  of  the 
prize  ring  are  held  to  apply  to  the  struggle 
between  the  law  and  those  who  break  the  law. 
Everything  must  be  done  openly  and  above 
board.  A  legitimate  principle  in  regard  to 
crimes   that   are   committed   openly   and   above 


128    THE  DYNAMITE  CAMPAIGN  [chap. 

board,  but  utterly  inapplicable  to  crimes  such 
as  these.  For  a  mine  can  be  reached  only  by 
a  counter-mine. 

The  dynamite  case  of  1896  will  serve  to 
illustrate  my  words.  Fenian  emissaries  were 
despatched  from  New  York  to  carry  into  effect 
a  formidable  outrage  plot.  Under  "  ordinary 
law "  and  "  English  methods "  the  miscreants 
might  have  come  here  with  perfect  impunity, 
but  the  use  of  proper  means  brought  us  a 
knowledge  of  their  projects,  and  the  "  Coercion 
Act  "  was  adequate  to  deal  with  them.  Edward 
Bell,  the  only  member  of  the  gang  who  crossed 
the  Channel,  was  arrested,  and  though  his  con- 
viction was  assured,  the  discovery  that  the  "  prize 
ring"  rules  had  not  been  observed  led  to  an 
abandonment  of  the  prosecution. 

Apart  from  the  special  question  here  at  issue, 
the  details  of  the  case  are  not  without  interest. 
When  I  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  report- 
ing the  arrest  of  the  accused,  and  informing  him 
of  the  means  by  which  it  had  been  obtained,  he 
formed  the  opinion  that  the  fact  of  a  con- 
federate having  given  information  to  Government 
was  a  bar  to  a  prosecution.  And  he  remained 
unmoved  by  the  clear  proof  I  gave  him  that  the 
informant  had  done  everything  in  his  power  to 
check  and  thwart  the  execution  of  the  plot.  Uut 
as  I  had  already  applied  to  foreign  police  forces 
to  deal  with  the  other  members  of  the  gang,  and 


xii]    A  VISIT  TO  LORD  SALISBURY   129 

extradition  proceedings  were  contemplated,  he 
decided  to  lay  the  matter  before  Lord  Salis- 
bury. 

Sir  Matthew  Ridley  brought  me  with  him  to 
Walmer  (September  19),  and  stated  the  whole 
case  in  full  detail  to  Lord  Salisbury,  adding  that 
as  I  entirely  dissented  from  the  view  he  had 
formed  of  it,  he  wished  me  to  have  a  hearing. 
Never  did  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  hear  a 
case  with  more  judicial  calmness.  I  possess  a 
photograph  of  Lord  Salisbury  in  the  precise 
attitude  in  which  he  listened,  first  to  Sir  Matthew 
Ridley  and  then  to  me,  without  indicating  even 
by  a  gesture  the  direction  of  his  thoughts.  And 
then  he  gave  his  decision,  which  was  unreservedly 
in  my  favour. 

The  case  accordingly  went  on,  and  the  accused 
was  committed  to  the  Old  Bailey.  The  evidence 
was  clear  and  complete,  and  when  the  prisoner 
was  brought  into  court  on  the  second  day  of  the 
trial,  he  stood  forward  to  say  that  he  wished  to 
withdraw  his  plea  of  not  guilty.  But  the  law 
officers  had  come  to  know  that  the  prize-ring 
rules  had  been  violated,  and  the  Solicitor-General 
intervened  by  rising  to  announce  the  withdrawal 
of  the  prosecution.  It  was  not  till  some  time 
afterwards  that  I  had  an  opportunity  to  tell  him 
that  the  facts  which  led  him  to  take  that  course 
were  well  known  to  the  prisoner  himself,  and 
that  his  decision  to  plead  guilty  to  the  charge 


130  THE  DYNAMITE  CAMPAIGN  [chap. 

was  the  result  of  a  bargain  to  which   I   was  a 

party.* 

When  Hells  legal  adviser  discovered  that 
there  were  traitors  in  the  dynamite  camp,  he 
called  to  warn  me  that,  if  the  case  was  pressed, 
the  defence  would  be  that  his  client  was  the 
victim  of  an  agent  provocateur.  I  assured  him 
that  I  feared  no  disclosures,  and  advised  him  to 
pump  his  client  before  he  tried  a  game  of  that 
kind.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day  of  the 
trial  he  returned  to  ask  me,  in  strict  confidence, 
whether  I  would  promise  the  prisoner  a  light 
sentence  if  he  pleaded  guilty.  But  of  course  I 
could  do  nothing  unless  he  allowed  me  to  tell 
the  law  officers  of  his  visit,  and  this  he  would 
not  hear  of.  I  added,  however,  that  if  Bell 
would  accompany  his  plea  of  guilty  with  some 
expression  of  regret,  I  would  confidently  promise 
to  obtain  an  early  remission  of  any  sentence 
passed  on  him. 

I  never  violate  a  confidence,  and  though  an 
hour  after  he   left  me   I    was   summoned   to  a 


*  In  the  minute  which  Sir  Matthew  Ridley  made  upon  my  letter, 
after  our  visit  to  Walmer,  he  said,  "  I  desire  to  plan-  on  record  my 
appreciation  of  the  promptitude  and  skill  displayed  in  lids  matter 
by  the  police,  and  my  rail  approval  of  Mr.  Anderson's  action." 

1  must  add  that,  while  the  case  fully  deserved  this  commendation, 
the  chief  credit  was  due,  not  to  me,  but  to  a  gentleman  whose  oame 
lias  not  come  Ik  lure  the  public  in  relation  to  .Secret  Service  work, 
hut  to  whom  the  public  owe  much  in  relation  to  duties  of  that 
character. 


xn]   THE  DYNAMITE  CASE  OF  1896    131 

consultation  in  the  case,  the  law  officers  had  no 
hint  of  all  this  till  some  time  afterwards.* 

Of  course  the  withdrawal  of  the  charge  against 
Bell  put  an  end  to  all  hope  of  taking  proceedings 
against  his  confederates,  and  they  promptly 
escaped  to  America.  I  had  traced  them  to 
Rotterdam  and  Amsterdam,  and  the  steamer  in 
which  they  left  was  called  the  Wenkerdam.  One 
characteristic  of  "  the  Parisian  accent "  that  is 
so  much  cultivated  by  English  people  is  the 
vulgarism  of  accentuating  the  final  syllable  of 
words ;  and  at  times  I  felt  tempted  to  give  vent 
to  my  feelings  of  annoyance  at  the  collapse  of 
this  dynamite  case  by  repeating  these  names 
aloud  in  the  Parisian  fashion. 

This  reference  to  the  Bell  case  is  a  digression 
which  breaks  the  sequence  of  my  story.  But  a 
mere  chronological  narrative  would  be  foreign 
to  the  purpose  of  these  pages ;  and  though  the 
years  between  the  Phoenix  Park  murders  and  the 
Parnell  Special  Commission  were  full  of  incidents 
that  might  be  worth  telling  in  another  connection, 
they  need  not  be  included  here.  One  of  the 
most  important  events  in  the  Fenian  annals  of 
that  period  was  the  "Jubilee  plot,"  to  which 
allusion  has  already  been  made.f  Some  details 
of  it  were  brought  to  public  notice  by  the  Select 

*  And  Sir  Matthew  Ridley  knew  nothing  of  it  when,  in  the  House 
of  Commons  dehate  on  January  20,  he  answered  Mr.  Healy's  taunts 
ahout  my  "operations.'' 

t  See  p.  126,  ante. 


132  THE  DYNAMITE  CAMPAIGN  [chap. 

Committee  appointed  in  1888.  with  a  view  to 
amend  the  regulations  for  the  admission  of 
strangers  to  the  House  of  Commons.  The 
evidence  in  that  inquiry  disclosed  that  a  leading 
Fenian  named  F.  F.  Millen  came  to  Europe  with 
a  number  of  subordinate  agents  to  carry  out  a 
fiendish  scheme  of  dynamite  outrages,  and  that 
one  at  least  of  the  Parnellite  members  was  in 
close  touch  with  these  men,  though  it  was  not 
averred  that  he  was  privy  to  their  designs. 

Hut  the  fullest  public  disclosure  ever  made  of 
the  infamous  character  and  aims  of  the  American 
Fenians  was  supplied  by  a  murder  trial  in  Illinois 
in  the  year  188!). 

An  Irish  doctor  practising  in  Chicago,  Cronin 
by  name,  was  expelled  from  the  Clan-na-Gael  in 
188.5  at  the  instigation  of  Alexander  Sullivan. 
He  thereupon  joined  a  rival  organization  formed 
by  seceders  from  the  parent  body.  Three  years 
later  a  reunion  was  established  at  a  joint  conven- 
tion held  in  Chicago.  At  that  meeting  Cronin 
turned  the  tables  on  Sullivan  by  preferring  grave 
charges  against  him  of  misappropriating  funds, 
and  neglecting  the  dynamite  emissaries  who  had 
been  sent  to  this  country  from  time  to  time. 
These  charges  were  referred  to  a  "  trial  com- 
mittee," of  which  Cronin  was  a  member.  Sullivan 
secured  an  acquittal,  but  the  proceedings  inten- 
sified his  hostility  to  Cronin,  and  he  was  still 
further   incensed  against    him  by   his   persistent 


xti]       MURDER  OF  DR.  CRONIN        133 

efforts  to  have  the  evidence  published.  As  the 
outcome  of  the  quarrel,  an  elaborate  plot  was 
hatched  for  the  murder  of  Cronin,  and  it  was 
carried  into  execution  in  May,  1889.  A  coroner's 
jury  found  a  verdict  of  wilful  murder  against 
Sullivan  and  the  actual  assassins,  but  the  charge 
against  Sullivan  was  abandoned.  The  others 
were  brought  to  trial  and  convicted. 

For  my  present  purpose  the  special  impor- 
tance of  the  case  is  due  to  the  fact  that  among 
Cronin 's  papers  were  found  the  records  of  the 
evidence  given  in  the  Fenian  trial  inquiry  of  the 
year  before,  and  this  document  was  freely  used 
by  the  prosecution  to  explain  the  motive  for  the 
murder.  The  first  witness  examined  in  that 
inquiry  was  a  man  who  had  taken  part  in  three 
of  the  London  dynamite  outrages,  and  the  last 
was  the  widow  of  the  man  who  came  by  his 
death  in  the  explosion  at  London  Bridge.  This 
man,  Lomasney,  had  been  joint  delegate  with 
Sullivan  to  the  Fenian  convention  of  1884,  and 
was  one  of  his  special  allies.  The  widow  was 
nominally  in  receipt  of  a  pension  from  the  Clan- 
na-Gael,  but  the  payment  of  it  had  been  irregular, 
and  she  had  been  left  in  want.  Other  witnesses 
described  their  fruitless  efforts  to  obtain  money 
for  the  unfortunate  relatives  of  the  dynamite 
convicts,  and  for  the  defence  of  emissaries  of  the 
organization  who  were  still  awaiting  trial. 

The   evidence,   as    a   whole,    was    a    hideous 


134  THE  DYNAMITE  CAMPAIGN  [m.  xn 

disclosure  of  diabolical  wickedness  and  shameful 
fraud  on  the  part  of  the  Fenian  leaders.  And  it 
afforded  proof,  which  could  not  be  challenged, 
that  the  miscreants  of  the  principal  dynamite 
outrages  in  this  country  were  the  paid  emissaries 
of  the  movement  which,  on  its  public  side,  owned 
Mr.  Parnell  as  its  "esteemed  and  honoured 
leader." 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE    SPECIAL    COMMISSION 

On  an  earlier  page  I  used  the  word  "  romance  " 
in  describing  the  Irish  sections  of  Mr.  Morley's 
"  Life  of  Gladstone."  But  that  expression 
would  be  inadequate  to  characterise  the  chapter 
on  "The  Special  Commission."  No  one  need 
quarrel  with  him  for  exposing  the  folly — a  much 
stronger  word  would  not  be  inapt — of  Lord 
Salisbury's  Government  in  forcing  through  Parlia- 
ment the  statute  under  which  the  Commission 
was  appointed.  But  when  he  attributes  the 
action  of  ministers  to  unworthy  motives,  he 
betrays  himself  as  the  party  politician  undis- 
guised. And  a  like  remark  applies  to  his 
strictures  upon  the  conduct  of  the  Times  in 
bringing  charges  of  the  gravest  kind  against  the 
Parnellites.  As  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  "  the  making 
of  those  charges  was  either  an  act  of  incredible 
baseness,  or  it  was  the  performance  of  a  public 
service  ; "  *  and  no  fair-minded  man  will  hesitate 
in  choosing  between  these  alternatives. 

*  Speech  of  May  11,  1887,  at  Hanipstead. 


136    THE  SPECIAL  COMMISSION  [chap. 

And  thoughtful  men  will  not  share  Mr.  Mor- 
ley's  estimate  of  the  tribunal.  The  suggestion  is 
grotesque  that  a  Parliamentary  Committee  would 
have  been  either  as  impartial  or  as  competent. 
Indeed,  it  would  have  been  a  farcical  proceeding 
to  refer  the  issues  involved  to  any  committee 
of  the  kind.  When  Mr.  Parnell  decided  not  to 
appeal  to  a  jury,  a  commission  of  judges  became 
the  only  practical  alternative.  Therefore  the 
decision  to  make  him  the  offer  of  such  a  tribunal 
was  not  only  fair,  but  in  all  respects  admirable. 
Forcing  that  tribunal  upon  him  was  a  blunder. 
Hut  this  false  step  was  taken,  not  in  furtherance 
of  a  base  party  intrigue,  but  under  a  mistaken 
sense  of  duty. 

Sir  William  Harcourt  once  refused  to  let 
me  refer  a  certain  matter  to  one  of  his  colleagues, 
because,  he  said,  he  was  "  one  of  those  conscien- 
tious people  that  you  can't  count  upon."  The 
sort  of  people  he  meant  were  those  who  "  act  on 
principle  "  in  matters  that  lie  outside  the  sphere 
of  morals — a  phase  of  folly  that  leads  not  only 
individuals  but  Governments  into  trouble. 

Mr.  Morley  objects  that  the  accused  had  no 
voice  in  the  composition  of  the  tribunal.  But 
accused  persons  are  not  generally  allowed  to 
select  their  judges.  The  objection,  moreover, 
is  purely  academic,  unless,  indeed,  it  is  a  veiled 
attack  upon  Sir  James  Ilannen  and  his  col- 
leagues. 


xiii]     MR.  MORLEY 'S  COMMENTS      137 

But,  he  exclaims,  for  the  first  time  since  the 
Great  Rebellion,  judges  were  to  find  a  verdict 
upon  the  facts  of  crime ;  and  he  repeatedly 
comments  on  the  absence  of  a  jury.  His  admi- 
ration for  juries,  however,  is  not  shared  by  those 
who  have  practical  acquaintance  with  their  ways. 
And  he  himself  supplies  the  refutation  of  his 
words  ;  for,  in  his  vindication  of  Mr.  Parnell's 
refusal  to  appeal  to  the  ordinary  tribunals,  he 
compares  a  jury  trial  to  "  the  hazards  of  a  cast 
of  the  die."*  He  forgets,  moreover,  that  Mr. 
Gladstone's  "  Coercion  Act "  of  six  years  before 
provided  similar  tribunals  for  the  trial  of  the 
wretched  men  whom  Mr.  Parnell's  agitation 
inveigled  into  crime.f 

Then  as  to  the  procedure.  Mr.  Morley 
complains  that,  "  Instead  of  opening  with  the 
letters,  as  the  country  expected,  the  accusers 
began  by  rearing  a  prodigious  accumulation  of 
material,"  involving  the  Parnellites  in  an  inter- 
minable inquiry  and  inordinate  expense.  What 
"  the  country  expected  "  was  that  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  Mr.  Parnell  would  have  come 
before  the  judges  to  denounce  the  letters,  and 
to  traverse  the  incriminating  charges.  That  is 
the  course  which  an  honest  man,  strong  in  the 
consciousness    of  his    innocence,    would   adopt. 

*  Vol.  iii.  p.  393.  And  the  second  paragraph  of  p.  394  in- 
dicates that  it  was  Mr.  Morley  himself  who  prevented  Parnell  from 
appealing  to  a  jury. 

t  See  p.  108,  ante. 

t 


1.38    THE  SPECIAL  COMMISSION  [chap. 

A  guilty  man,  on  the  other  hand,  might  hold 
hack  in  hope  of  benefiting  hy  the  chances  of  a 
trial.  It  was  neither  the  Government  nor  the 
Times,  but  Mr.  Parnell  himself,  who  was 
responsible  for  the  order  of  procedure. 

We  all  know  the  story  of  the  Irish  juryman 
who,  on  addressing  the  judge  from  the  public 
gallery,  was  told  to  go  to  his  proper  place  in  the 
court,  and  at  once  made  for  the  dock.  If,  as 
Mr.  Morley  complains,  the  Parnellites  were 
••  virtually  in  the  dock,' it  was  by  their  deliberate 
choice  that  they  occupied  that  position.  The 
proprietors  of  the  Times  expected  to  be  put 
upon  their  defence,  as  they  would  have  been  if 
the  Irishmen  had  appealed  to  a  jury,  or  if  they 
had  obtained  a  Parliamentary  Committee.  So 
little  were  they  prepared  for  the  action  forced 
upon  them,  that  their  leading  counsel  did  not 
attend  the  preliminary  meeting  of  the  Commis- 
sion. And  it  was  in  their  absence,  and  on  the 
motion  of  Sir  Charles  Russell,  that  the  order  of 
proceedings  was  arranged. 

What  makes  the  procedure  the  more  signifi- 
cant is  the  fact,  disclosed  when  Pigott  absconded, 
that  before  a  single  one  of  the  Times  witnesses 
had  been  heard,  the  defence  had  obtained  from 
that  wretched  man  a  confession  of  the  forgeries. 
The  inference  is  natural,  that  this  was  purposely 
kept  back  until  the  case  for  the  Times  had  been 
disclosed.     A    dramatic    incident    in   the    course 


xin]         A  COUP  BE  THEATRE  139 

of  a  criminal  trial  sometimes  leads  the  thought- 
less to  acclaim  the  occupant  of  the  dock  as  a 
popular  hero ;  and  the  great  master  of  Nisi 
Pr'ius  tactics  who  conducted  Parnell's  defence 
judged,  no  douht,  that  a  coup  de  theatre  about 
the  letters  would  divert  public  attention  from 
the  other  issues. 

The  success  of  the  coup  was  indeed  pheno- 
menal. But  we  can  now  review  the  whole 
matter  dispassionately,  and  Mr.  Morley  exag- 
gerates the  power  of  his  brilliant  pen  if  he 
imagines  that  he  can  make  us  regard  the  Parnell 
of  the  Land  League  as  an  impersonation  of  injured 
innocence.  Nor  can  we  forget  at  his  bidding 
that,  save  for  the  iniquity  of  the  forged  letters, 
the  Times  charges  against  the  Irish  leader  were 
entirely  in  the  spirit  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  denun- 
ciations of  him  prior  to  the  Kilmainham  treaty. 
His  glowing  periods,  moreover,  will  not  avail  to 
make  us  ignore  the  gravity  of  the  charges  which 
the  judges  held  to  have  been  established  by  legal 
evidence. 

"  By  legal  evidence  "  I  say  advisedly,  for  the 
fact  that  the  proceedings  took  the  form  of  a 
quasi  criminal  trial  deprives  the  Commissioners' 
report  of  the  effect  which  Mr.  Morley  claims  for 
it.  The  judges  expressly  decided  that  the 
letters  were  forgeries  ;  but  in  regard  to  the  other 
charges  which  they  dismissed,  their  decision  was 
no    more   than   a   legal    acquittal.     Indeed,    the 


140    THE  SPECIAL  COMMISSION  [chap. 

investigation  of  those  charges  under  the  limita- 
tion^ imposed  by  the  law  of  evidence  in  a 
criminal  trial  was  a  mere  waste  of  time.  If  legal 
evidence  had  been  available,  the  police  would 
have  taken  action  long  before ;  and  where  the 
police  failed  to  make  out  a  case,  it  was  not  likely 
that  the  Times  would  succeed. 

Let  me  illustrate  my  meaning.  The  judges 
say,  e.g.,  "  We  find  that  Mr.  Parnell  did  not 
make  any  remittance  to  enable  F.  Byrne  to 
escape  from  justice."  What  the  Times  averred 
was  that  "an  opportune  remittance  from  Mr. 
Parnell  in  January,  1883,  enabled  him  to  escape 
to  France."  The  allegation  of  fact  here  was  not 
in  dispute,  but  the  innuendo  was  incapable  of 
proof.  And  I  will  only  say  that  if  in  January, 
1883,  Mr.  Parnell  was  ignorant  of  Byrne's  con- 
nection with  the  murder  plots  of  the  preceding 
year,  his  ignorance  was  wilful.  I  had  knowledge 
of  it  myself,  and  he  had  means  of  information 
vastly  superior  to  mine. 

These  remarks  apply  equally  to  other  "  find- 
ings" of  the  Court.  Take  the  following,  for  in- 
stance: "We  find  .  .  .  that  the  Land  League  did 
not  pay  or  organize  the  Invincibles,  nor  did  the 
respondents  or  any  of  them  associate  with  persons 
known  by  them  to  be  employed  in  the  Invincible 
conspiracy."  I  can  only  say  that  the  men  who 
brought  me  knowledge  of  the  work  of  the 
Invincibles,  obtained  that  knowledge  in  the  office 


xni]        ACCOUNTS  KEPT  BACK  141 

of  the  Lund  League  ;  and  I  assert  as  a  fact  that 
the  money  of  the  Land  League  was  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  murder  gang. 

That  the  decision  of  the  judges  was  no  more 
than  a  legal  verdict  of  "  not  guilty"  is  made  clear 
by  their  complaint  that  the  books  of  the  Engl  is]  i 
secretary  to  the  Land  League  were  not  produced, 
albeit  their  production  was  promised ;  and  that 
no  particulars  were  afforded  them  of  the  expen- 
diture of  not  less  than  £100,000  of  the  Land 
League  funds. 

No,  the  books  were  not  produced,  and  for 
excellent  reasons.  They  were  in  the  office  of 
the  League  in  Palace  Chambers  when  the  pre- 
liminary meeting  of  the  Commission  was  held  on 
September  17,  1885.  But  before  October  22, 
when  the  judges  opened  the  actual  inquiry, 
they  had  been  despatched  to  France.  At  this 
distance  of  time  accuracy  is  of  no  importance, 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  actual  date  at  which 
they  were  sent  across  the  Channel  was  the  night 
of  October  10. 

Mr.  Morley  describes  the  events  in  Ireland 
during  the  Land  League  period  as  a  revolution ; 
and  this  perhaps  may  not  only  afford  a  clue  to 
Parnell's  conduct,  but  it  may  explain  a  strange 
omission  in  Mr.  Morley 's  narrative.  Revolu- 
tionists cannot  afford  to  be  fastidious  about 
means  and  measures,  and  their  apologists  are  apt 
to  deal  lightly  with  their  misdeeds.     And  yet  we 


142    THE  SPECIAL  COMMISSION  [chap. 

might  have  hoped  that  the  hateful  cruelties  and 
hideous  crimes  of  the  Land  League  movement 
would  have  drawn  from  such  a  moralist  as  Mr. 
Morley  some  expression  of  indignant  censure  or 
of  generous  distress.  But  he  seems  to  have  ex- 
hausted his  vocabulary  of  invective  in  denouncing 
the  Tories  and  the  Times. 

The  expense  of  the  inquiry  must  indeed  have 
been  enormous  ;  and  where  the  money  came 
from  is  a  secret  which  has  never  been  revealed. 
As  regards  the  Times,  the  facts  are  not  in  doubt; 
but  what  about  the  Irishmen  ?  No  one  imagines 
that  they  personally  had  either  the  will  or  the 
capacity  to  find  the  cash.  And  the  Land 
League  funds  had  been  depleted  by  the  ex- 
penditure of  huge  sums  on  projects  which  have 
never  been  disclosed,  and  which  presumably 
would  not  bear  the  light.*  Where,  then,  did 
the  money  come  from  ?  Did  the  Reform  Club 
contribute  ?  Or  was  there  a  secret  subscription 
among  members  of  the  party  ?f 

When  the  proceedings  before  the  Commission 
took  the  turn  they  did,  the  Treasury  Solicitor 
might  well  have  been  instructed  to  intervene. 
Bui  the  Times  was  left  to  make  out  its  case  un- 
aided.    There  is  no  foundation  for  Mr.  Morley 's 

*  Bee  p.  113,  ante.  It  is  not  clear  from  the  judges' report  whether 
tin'  amount  unaccounted  for  was  8178,000  or  only  £100,000. 

t  Mr.  Morley  makes  the  significanl  statemenl  that,  the  day  after 
the  report  was  issued,  "Mr.  Gladstone  lia<l  a  meeting  with  the 
lawyers  in  the  i  ■  i 


xin]  THE   TIMES  CASE  143 

suggestion  that  the  Government  was  behind  the 
prosecution.  The  Government  stood  neutral, 
and  the  affair  became  a  forensic  tournament. 

And  a  most  unequal  struggle  it  was.  For 
the  qualities  which  have  won  for  Lord  Alver- 
stone  respect  and  confidence  of  a  kind,  and  in 
a  measure,  that  all  Chief  Justices  of  England 
have  not  enjoyed,  were  very  different  from  those 
which  made  his  opponent  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  Common  Law  Bar,  and  the 
shrewdest  tactician  of  his  generation.  And  Sir 
Charles  Russell  was  unceasingly  upon  the  alert 
to  use  all  the  subtleties  of  the  law  of  evidence 
to  check  the  eliciting  of  facts  ;  while  Sir  Richard 
Webster,  on  the  other  hand — though,  of  course, 
it  was  as.  a  private  barrister,  and  not  as  Attorney- 
General,  that  he  appeared — conducted  his  case 
throughout  as  though  he  was  prosecuting  for 
the  Crown. 

Therefore  it  was,  no  doubt,  that  he  accepted 
Pigott  as  his  witness.  Counsel  representing  the 
Crown  is  expected  to  lay  everything  before  the 
Court,  no  matter  what  its  tendency ;  but  in 
private  practice  no  competent  barrister  would 
have  called  the  man  into  the  witness-box.  For 
it  was  known  that  the  other  side  had  been 
tampering  with  him  for  months,  and  the  obvious 
course  would  have  been  to  treat  him  as  a  hostile 
witness,  and  to  claim  the  right  to  cross-examine 
him. 


144    THE  SPECIAL  COMMISSION  [chap. 

And  if  that  course  had  been  adopted,  Pigott 
would  have  stated  upon  oath,  what  he  asserted 
vehemently  to  the  last,  that  the  "facsimile 
letter  "  was  not  his  handiwork.  My  information 
about  such  matters  was  seldom  in  fault,  and  a 
review  of  the  whole  case  for  the  purpose  of 
writing  these  pages,  confirms  me  in  the  con- 
clusion 1  adopted  at  the  time.  The  letter  in 
question,  I  believe,  was  penned  by  a  man  named 
Arthur  O'Keefe,  who  was  one  of  ParnelTs 
fellow  prisoners  in  1882,  and  who  was  sometimes 
employed  by  him  as  an  amanuensis.  Having 
regard  to  Parnell's  denials,  I  am  far  from  as- 
serting that  the  letter  was  genuine.  I  leave  it 
an  open  question.  But  if  it  was  a  forgery,  it 
was  concocted  for  the  purposes,  not  of  the  Times, 
but  of  the  extremists  among  the  Land  Leaguers, 
who  were  both  scared  and  exasperated  by  Par- 
nell's public  denunciations  of  the  murder.* 

That  letters  of  the  kind  were  in  existence 
was  a  common  rumour  at  the  time.  Even  the 
Ddi hf  News  professed  to  have  knowledge  of 
them.  And  no  one  who  reads  what  Mr.  Morley 
tells  of  Parnell's  visit  to  Hawarden,  and  of  the 
account  he  afterwards  gave  of  his  conference 
with  Mr.  Gladstone,  will  scout  the  suggestion 
that  he  may  have  written  what  is  here  attributed 
to  him.  There  was  one  element  in  that  strange 
personality    of    which     Mr.     Morley    takes    no 

*   See  Appendix,  Note  III.,  p.  212.,  post. 


xni]     PARNELL'S  SUPERSTITIONS     145 

account,  but  which  cannot  be  ignored  if  we  are  to 
judge  his  acts  aright ;  and  after  this  lapse  of 
time  there  can  be  no  impropriety  in  noticing  it. 
"  Great  wits  are  sure  to  madness  near  allied." 
These  words,  which  are  not  altogether  inapplic- 
able to  their  author,  suggest  an  explanation  of 
much  that  seems  most  strange  in  the  life  of 
Charles  Stewart  Parnell. 

In  this  connection  I  might  appeal  to  his 
amazing  superstitions.  An  "  unlucky  "  colour 
distressed  him  intensely.  An  "  unlucky  "  num- 
ber filled  him  with  dread.  No  peasant  of  a 
bygone  generation  was  more  the  slave  of  silly 
superstitious  fears  of  this  kind. 

His  habit  of  midnight  prowling,  his  renting 
houses  under  assumed  names,  and  other  like 
ways  and  deeds,  gave  rise  to  sinister  suspicions 
of  one  kind  or  another.  But  all  such  suspicions 
were  baseless.  The  man  was  eccentric.  He  lived 
apart  from  his  fellows.  He  lived  alone.  And 
this  is  an  element  which  lends  the  deepest  pathos 
to  the  event  which  wrecked  his  public  career.  A 
seemingly  impassable  obstacle  barred  companion- 
ship with  the  only  friend  whose  companionship 
he  prized,  the  only  person  upon  earth,  perhaps, 
who  unreservedly  possessed  his  confidence.  A 
man  of  another  mould  would  have  accepted  the 
position,  and  gloomily  hugged  his  loneliness. 
But  his  masterful  will  could  never  brook  obstacles 
of  any  kind.     Possibly,  too,  he  was  misled  by 

u 


1  16  THE  SPECIAL  COMMISSION  [ch.  xiii 

precedents.  For  Irish  patriots  had  been  used  to 
err  as  he  erred.  But  times  had  changed,  as 
Parnell  learned  to  his  cost.  And  yet  it  was  only 
those  who  were  behind  the  scenes  who  can  realise 
how  near  he  was  to  weathering  the  storm  and 
beating  down  all  opposition. 

The  recklessness  which  afterwards  marked 
his  words  and  acts  have  been  attributed  to 
indignation  that  men  who  were  not  without  sin 
themselves  had  been  prominent  in  stoning  him. 
But  this  explanation  is  inadequate.  There  is  a 
point  at  which  an  unhinged  mind  gives  way, 
and  in  Parnell  s  case  that  point  had  been  reached. 
During  his  closing  year,  indeed,  he  merited  to 
the  full  the  pity  which  he  would  have  scorned. 
And  if  we  understand  aright  that  strangely 
picturesque  personality,  we  shall  deal  generously 
with  his  memory,  and  take  a  kindlier  view  of  his 
last  sad  lapse  and  his  tragic  end.* 

*  Sec  Appendix,  Note  IV.,  p.  214,  post. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

WHY    I    WAS    NOT    A    WITNESS 

The  preceding  chapter  is  in  the  main  a  criticism 
of  Mr.  Morley's  story  of  "  the  Special  Com- 
mission." But  the  cynic  may  think,  perhaps, 
that  my  own  story  would  be  more  to  the  point, 
and  especially  an  explanation  of  my  failing  to 
appear  as  a  witness.  This  I  have  never  had  an 
opportunity  to  give  till  now. 

I  must  premise  that  Le  Caron's  evidence  was 
my  only  point  of  contact  with  the  case  for  the 
Times.  And  I  say  this  emphatically,  because  I 
find  there  are  people  still  who  credit  Mr. 
Labouchere's  statements  that  I  sent  police 
officers  across  the  Atlantic  to  tout  for  evidence 
against  the  Parnellites.  The  allegation  was  un- 
equivocally denied  by  the  Secretary  of  State  in 
Parliament,  and  by  the  Chief  Commissioner  of 
Police  in  a  letter  to  the  Times  ;  but,  giving  the 
lie  to  both  Mr.  Matthew  and  Mr.  Monro,  Mr 
Labouchere  repeated  it  still  more  definitely  in 
the  House  of  Commons. 

I  was  naturally  indignant,  and  I  determined 


148  WHY  1  WAS  NOT  A  WITNESS  [chap. 

to  brine  him  to  book.  But  I  could  take  no 
action  on  words  spoken  in  Parliament.  The 
course  I  adopted,  therefore,  was  to  give  the  facts 
to  the  editor  of  the  World;  and,  as  I  expected, 
"  Edmund  "  drew  "  Henry  "  in  the  "  par." 
columns  of  Truth.  Mr.  Labouchere  declared  in 
his  paper  that  lie  was  fully  prepared  to  prove 
that  Inspector  Jarvis  of  my  department  had  been 
to  a  town  named  Del  Norte  to  interview  the 
Land  Leaguer  Sheridan  in  the  interests  of  the 
Times. 

This  was  exactly  what  I  wanted.  Inspector 
Jarvis  had,  in  fact,  been  in  America  at  the  time 
indicated.  But  to  have  undertaken  a  mission 
outside  the  duty  I  had  entrusted  to  him  was  a 
grave  breach  of  discipline.  So  I  directed  his 
superintendent  to  bring  him  before  me  "  on  the 
report ;  "  and  the  charge  having  been  preferred, 
I  adjourned  the  case  to  give  the  incriminated 
officer  an  opportunity  to  clear  himself. 

In  due  time  Mr.  Wontner,  the  solicitor,  called 
on  me  to  say  that,  on  Jarvis's  instructions,  he  had 
commenced  an  action  against  Mr.  Labouchere, 
and  that  Messrs.  Lewis  and  Lewis  now  wished 
to  compromise  it :  would  I  be  content  if  the 
defendant  paid  all  costs,  and  allowed  judgment 
to  be  entered  against  him  ?  "  Certainly  not,"  I 
replied  ;  "  the  matter  before  me  is  the  conduct 
of  an  officer  of  my  department,  and  if  the  case 
is  settled  out  of  court,  the  settlement  must  be  on 


xiv]  MR.  LABOUCHERE  149 

terms  that  will  veto  all  suspicion  of  collusion." 
The  matter  ended  by  Mr.  Labouchere's  paying 
the  costs,  plus  £100  for  damages,  and  inserting 
an  apology  in  Truth* 

Apart  from  the  Le  Caron  disclosures,  I  repeat 
I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  Times  case.  And 
my  share  in  the  business  would  probably  have 
excited  no  notice  had  Le  Caron  been  allowed 
to  tell  his  story  in  his  own  way.  But  his 
evidence  had  to  be  extracted  piecemeal  by 
question  and  answer,  as  in  a  criminal  court, 
and  with  Sir  Charles  Russell  "  on  the  pounce  " 
when  any  question  infringed  technical  rules 
originally  framed  to  shield  a  prisoner  on  trial 
for  his  life. 

"  There  is  no  reason  to  think  he  told  lies," 
is  Mr.  Morley's  comment  on  his  story.  As  I 
have  already  said,  Le  Caron  was  truthful  in  a 
special  sense.  His  statements  were  generally 
free  even  from  that  sort  of  bias  which  very  few 
of  us  can  shake  off,  which  possibly  marks  these 
pages  in  spite  of  my  efforts  to  be  scrupulously 
fair,  and  which  betrays  itself  throughout  Mr. 
Morley's  narrative. 

*  The  head  of  the  "C.I.D.,"  if  fit  for  his  place,  knows  a  great 
many  things  which  people  think  are  going  on  under  cover.  And  I 
knew  who  it  was  that  had  fooled  Mr.  Labouchere  in  this  business. 
He  employed  the  same  agent  to  obtain  a  statement  which  it  was 
expected  would  be  embarrassing  to  Ministers  ;  but  when  obtained, 
it  reflected  mainly  on  the  Opposition  leaders.  So  it  did  not  appear 
in  Truth.  Mr.  Davitt  got  hold  of  it,  however,  and  its  publication  in 
the  Labour  World  created  a  mild  sensation. 


150  WHY  I  WAS  NOT  A  WITNESS  [chap 

Mr.  Morley  goes  on  to  say,  "  He  was  perhaps 
a  good  deal  less  trusted  than  he  thought,  for 
he  does  not  appear  on  any  occasion  to  have 
forewarned  the  police  at  home  of  any  of  the 
dynamite  attempts  that  four  or  five  years  earlier 
had  startled  the  English  capital."  Is  this  an 
insinuation  that  Le  Caron  played  us  false  by 
concealing  his  knowledge  of  dynamite  plots  ?  If 
the  words  do  not  mean  that,  I  am  utterly  unable 
to  understand  them.  But  when  so  construed, 
they  would  be  so  discreditable  to  their  author 
that  I  dismiss'  the  sentence  as  an  insoluble 
enigma. 

General  warnings  of  the  dynamite  plots,  he 
gave  me  repeatedly.  And  it  is  noteworthy  that 
the  first  of  these  warnings  came  from  the  Fenian 
Convention  of  1881,  to  which  he  carried  the 
appeal  to  the  Fenian  leaders,  which  Parnell  had 
(ill rusted  to  him  in  the  House  of  Commons 
interview  of  the  preceding  May.  His  letters 
told  me  that,  though  the  word  was  never  used 
either  on  the  platform  or  in  the  official  records 
of  the  meeting,  dynamite  was  in  the  air,  and 
permeated  all  the  speeches.  There  it  was  that  he 
firsl  met  Or.  Gallagher,  the  dynamite  emissary 
of  1883,  and  Mackay  Lomasney,  who  was  blown 
to  pieces  in  his  attempt  to  wreck  London  Bridge 
in  the  winter  of  1884.  But  details  of  the  dyna- 
mite plots  could  have  been  obtained  only  by 
participating  in  them,  and  a  man  in  Le  Caron's 


xiv]  LE   CARON  151 

position  must  have  taken  such  a  leading  part 
as  to  become  in  the  fullest  sense  an  agent 
provocateur. 

If  the  matter  warranted  such  a  digression, 
I  might  point  to  speeches  of  the  Liberal 
leaders  to  prove  that  Le  Caron's  information 
was  thoroughly  trusted,  and  to  events  which 
prove  that  the  confidence  placed  in  him  was 
thoroughly  deserved.  But  there  can  be  no 
stronger  testimony  to  his  trustworthiness  than 
the  fact  that  the  prolonged  and  searching  cross- 
examination  to  which  he  was  subjected  at  the 
Special  Commission  served  only  to  set  up  his 
credit  as  a  witness,  and  to  lead  the  judges  to 
accept  his  evidence  even  when  it  conflicted 
with  Parnell's,  as  in  regard  to  the  House  of 
Commons  interview.  Upon  this  I  have  some- 
thing to  say  anon. 

It  was  on  February  7  (1889)  that  my  name 
was  first  brought  into  the  case.  The  newspapers 
of  the  8th  informed  me  that  in  cross-examination 
by  Sir  Charles  Russell,  Le  Caron  had  mentioned 
my  giving  him  back  his  letters.  I  went  at  once 
to  Sir  Richard  Webster,  and  asked  him  to  make 
me  his  next  witness.  He  was  at  the  moment 
going  into  court,  and  delayed  only  to  express 
his  approval  and  gratification,  and  to  ask  me  to 
write  him  a  letter  that  he  could  show  to  Sir 
Henry  James.  That  night  I  sent  him  a  partial 
statement  of  the  evidence  I  wished  to  give,  and 


152  WHY  I  WAS  NOT  A  WITNESS  [chap. 

it  was  briefed  to  counsel,  a  printed  copy  being 
sent  to  me. 

The  Court  did  not  sit  again  until  the  12th, 
and  on  that  day  (Tuesday)  I  went  down  expect- 
ing to  be  called.  But  Sir  Richard  Webster  told 
me  that  Sir  Henry  James  objected  to  my  giving 
evidence,  and  asked  me  to  return  at  6.30  for  a 
consultation.  At  the  hour  named  I  met  him 
and  Sir  Henry.  The  Attorney- General  was 
entirely  in  favour  of  calling  me,  but  Sir  Henry 
was  as  strongly  opposed  to  it.  His  personal  re- 
gard for  me,  lie  said  it  was,  which  influenced  him: 
I  had  no  idea  what  a  cross-examination  by  Sir 
Charles  Russell  would  mean.  1  replied  that  1 
was  not  the  least  afraid  of  any  amount  of  cross- 
examination  by  Sir  Charles  Russell. 

Turning  to  Le  Caron's  evidence  about  certain 
facts,  which  he  said  he  had  reported  to  Govern- 
ment in  1881,  he  asked,  "  What  would  you 
say,  for  instance,  if  asked  whether  you  actually 
received  that  information  ?  "  "  My  answer  would 
be. 'Yes,'"  I  replied,  "I  remember  it  perfectly." 
"  And  then  suppose  Russell  asked  you  what 
action  you  took  upon  it,  what  would  you  say  ? " 
"  I  should  appeal  to  the  Court,"  I  replied,  "  that 
I  ought  not  to  answer  that  question  ;  as  it  really 
means, '  What  instructions  did  I  receive  from  the 
Secretary  of  State  upon  Le  Caron's  information  ? " 
Sir  Richard  Webster  looked  amused  and  gratified 
by    my    rejoinder,    but    Sir    Henry  James   only 


xiv]       MY  EVIDENCE  REFUSED         153 

repeated  his  forebodings  about  the  perils  of  a 
cross-examination. 

The  conversation  ended  by  his  saying  he 
would  like  to  talk  the  matter  over  with  the 
Attorney-General,  and  they  asked  me  to  come 
back  next  day  before  the  sitting  of  the  Court. 
When  I  returned  on  the  Wednesday  morning,  I 
found  that  neither  of  them  had  changed  his 
opinion,  but  it  was  Sir  Henry  James'  view  that 
prevailed :  " they  did  not  mean  to  call  me  at 
present." 

To  the  last  I  expected  to  be  called,  but  the 
summons  never  came.  The  action  I  took  in 
the  matter,  as  recorded  in  my  opening  chapter, 
disposed  of  my  private  reasons  for  wishing  to 
come  forward,  and  I  had  no  longer  any  desire 
to  force  my  evidence  upon  the  Court.  For  the 
case  was  damaged  beyond  repair  by  the  supreme 
blunder  of  accepting  Pigott  as  a  witness  for  the 
Times,  and  all  the  after  proceedings  were  but 
the  fizzle  of  a  damp  squib.  But  everything  I 
have  since  learned  has  served  to  deepen  the 
conviction  I  formed  seventeen  years  ago,  that 
if  that  case  had  closed  with  Le  Caron's  evidence, 
confirmed  by  what  I  had  to  tell,  the  result  of 
the  Special  Commission  would  have  been  very 
different  from  what  it  was. 

The  "  pith  "  of  Le  Caron's  evidence,  to  quote 
Mr.  Morley's  phrase  again,  was  his  interview 
with    Parnell    in   the   Library   corridor    of    the 

x 


154  WHY  I  W  AS  NOT  A  WITNESS  [ch.  xiv 

House  of  Commons.  "  Did  you  make  any 
report  of  it  ? "  Sir  Charles  Russell  asked  him. 
And  his  answer  was,  "  I  did,  immediately  after 
the  interview."  Had  my  evidence  been  taken, 
I  should  have  told  that,  on  leaving  Parnell,  Le 
Caron  drove  at  once  to  my  house,  and  repeated 
to  me  all  that  had  occurred.  .And  with  my 
notes  of  his  narrative  in  my  hand,  I  should  have 
confirmed  in  every  detail  his  statements  in  the 
witness-box  at  the  Special  Commission. 

If  in  view  of  all  this  the  reader  expects  me 
to  solve  the  mystery  why  I  was  not  a  witness  at 
the  Special  Commission,  he  will  be  disappointed. 
The  more  I  review  the  circumstances,  the  more 
impenetrable  does  that  mystery  become. 


CHAPTER   XV 

LE    CARON    AND    HIS    EVIDENCE 

Le  Caron's  interview  with  Parnell  was  not  of 
his  own  seeking.  He  was  in  London  with  Egan 
during  the  early  part  of  May,  1881,  and  he  left 
for  Paris  with  him  on  the  13th  of  that  month. 
The  first  letter  I  had  from  him  during  his  stay 
in  France  told  me  that  before  leaving  London 
they  had  a  "general  conference,"  at  which,  he 
said — 

"  It  was  decided  that  Egan  should  return 
with  me  to  the  United  States,  if  able  to  set 
some  one  to  take  his  place  here  during  his 
absence,  it  being  very  much  desired  to  have  a 
thorough  understanding  before  the  August  Con- 
vention. Egan  is  sending  detailed  outlines  to 
Devoy  and  Ford.  It  may  seem  a  wild  idea,  but 
I  assure  you  it  is  a  fact.  All  they  ask  is  'no 
opposition  to,  and  co-operation  with,  the  Land 
League,'  which  in  turn  agrees  to  devote  its 
means  and  energies  to  promote  the  cause  of 
Irish  independence.  You  will  understand  that 
there  is  every  reason  why,  for  the  present,  this 


156         LE    CARONS    EVIDENCE      [chap. 

should  not  leak  out.     Secrecy  is  enjoined  upon 
all,  myself  included." 

Another  letter,  written  in  Paris  on  the  17th, 
contained  the  following:  "Parnell  writes  to 
Egan  to  be  sure  to  tell  me  that  he  wants  to 
have  a  talk  with  me  before  I  leave."  And  on 
the  23rd  I  had  a  note,  posted  in  London,  to  say 
he  would  call  upon  me  that  night,  after  the 
interview. 

In  his  evidence,  Le  Caron  stated  that  on 
going  to  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  evening 
in  question,  he  first  saw  Mr.  J.  J.  O'Kelly,  M.P., 
that  presently  Mr.  Parnell  joined  them,  and 
that,  after  O'Kelly  withdrew,  Parnell  continued 
the  conversation  with  him  alone.  Here  is  his 
account  of  the  object  of  the  interview  as 
explained  by  O'Kelly.  "  He  suggested  that, 
on  my  return,  I  should  use  my  influence  with 
my  friends  upon  the  other  side  to  bring  about 
a  little  coercion  on  their  part  in  order  to  bring 
the  organizations  into  line  on  this  side  of  the 
water.  He  said  that  we  were  all  working  for 
one  common  object."  When  O'Kelly  left  them, 
Parnell  enlarged  on  this.  And  lie  asked  Le 
Caron  to  see  John  Devoy,  on  his  return  to  New 
York,  to  enlist  his  co-operation  in  the  scheme, 
and  to  ask  him  to  come  over  to  Paris,  where 
Parnell  would  meet  him.  He  was  also  to  bring 
the    matter     before     Alexander     Sullivan     and 


xv]  PAKNELL'S  MESSAGE  157 

William  J.  Hynes.  "There  need  be  no  mis- 
understanding," Parnell  declared,  "  we  are 
working  for  a  common  purpose — the  inde- 
pendence of  Ireland."  And  he  added  an 
expression  of  his  belief  in  an  appeal  to  arms 
for  that  purpose. 

All  this  Le  Caron  repeated  to  me  in  fuller 
detail  within  half  an  hour  of  his  leaving  Parnell 
in  the  House  of  Commons.  Parnell  told  him 
that  if  the  Clan-na-Gael  would  give  him 
£200,000,  this  sum,  added  to  what  the  Land 
League  could  raise,  would  suffice  to  enable  him 
to  bring  about  an  armed  revolt.  He  had 
estimated  the  strength  and  the  distribution  of 
the  garrison  in  Ireland.  He  mentioned  inci- 
dentally, that  he  had  sent  agents  to  South  Africa 
to  encourage  the  Boers.  And  lie  hinted  that 
it  might  be  possible  to  make  trouble  in  India. 
These  latter  points  had  passed  from  Le  Caron's 
memory  when  he  gave  his  evidence  at  the 
Commission. 

Le  Caron  was  a  man  of  the  world  and  a 
cynic.  Accustomed  to  American  political 
oratory,  he  had  discounted  Parnell's  speeches 
upon  Fenian  platforms.  But  when  he  came 
to  me  that  night,  he  was  impressed  by  the  belief 
that  the  man  was  terribly  in  earnest,  and  really 
meant  business.  As  he  afterwards  wrote  in  the 
book  which  tells  his  life  story — 

"  The  interview  had  proved  a   startling  one 


1.58         LE   CARON'S   EVIDENCE     [chap 

for  me.  I  pondered  over  the  manner  and  the 
method  of  my  late  companion,  to  discover, 
if  I  could,  any  incident  in  the  course  of  our 
hour's  talk  which  would  materially  affect  all 
that  he  said.  But  there  was  none.  The 
manner  of  the  League  chief  had  been  grave 
and  impassive,  as  was  his  wont ;  he  had  been 
business-like  all  through ;  there  was  no  un- 
certainty, no  indistinctness  in  his  utterance. 
He  had  certainly  made  a  plunge,  but  it 
Avas  a  plunge  taken  with  all  deliberation  and 
premeditation.'' 

In  his  evidence  before  the  Special  Commission, 
Mr.  J.  J.  O'Kelly,  M.P.,  admitted  that  he  was  a 
sworn  Fenian  in  Ireland  during  the  sixties ;  that 
when  he  went  to  America  in  1871,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  and  in  course  of 
time  took  an  active  part  in  the  movement ;  and 
that  it  was  as  an  official  of  that  organization, 
witli  money  supplied  by  the  treasurer  for  Fenian 
purposes,  that  he  returned  to  Ireland  in  1879, 
some  six  or  seven  months  before  the  General 
Election,  at  which  he  was  returned  to  Parliament 
as  a  supporter  of  Mr.  Parnell.  This  immensely 
increases  the  significance  of  the  interview ;  for 
O'Kelly  would  naturally  have  informed  his 
chief  of  the  character  and  aims  of  the  Fenian 
organization.  And  he  was  by  no  means  the 
only  man  among  Parnell's  lieutenants  who  had 
gone  through  the  mill  of  the  criminal  conspiracy, 


xv]    PARNELL  HELPS  THE  BOERS    159 

and  who  could   have  given  the  Irish  leader  in- 
formation of  all  its  secrets.* 

Did  Parnell  cherish  the  insane  dream  that 
with  £200,000  of  Fenian  money  he  could  meet 
the  military  forces  of  a  nation  that  has  since 
spent  £200,000,000  in  crushing  the  Boers? 
Parnell  was  no  dreamer,  but  he  remembered 
Mr.  Gladstone's  words,  that  the  explosion  of  a 
barrel  of  gunpowder  in  Clerkenwell,  by  a  few 
Irish  tailors  and  cobblers,  "brought  the  Irish 
Question  within  the  range  of  practical  politics  ; " 
and  it  was  not  a  very  wild  supposition  that  the 
use  of  a  little  gunpowder  in  Ireland  would  give 
a  powerful  fillip  to  the  movement  thus  begun. 
My  only  other  comment  on  the  story  is  to  record 
the  fact  that  within  six  months  of  the  date  of 
this  conversation,  a  new  scheme  for  procuring 
rifles  for  use  in  Ireland  was  started  by  the 
"  Revolutionary  Directory."  But  Parnell  was 
then  in  Kilmainham. 

Still  more  incredible  the  statement  may 
appear  to  be  that  help  was  given  to  the  Boers. 
But  it  was  true.  In  1880,  the  Chairman  of  the 
Boers'  Committee  at  Amsterdam  visited  both 
Egan  and  Parnell.  And  as  the  result  of  his 
visits  to  them,  three  officers,  selected  by  him  on 
his  return  to  Amsterdam,  were  despatched  to  the 

*  On  his  arrival  iu  England,  the  day  after  Paruell's  death,  he 
started  at  once  for  Brighton,  and  was  admitted  to  the  death  chamber. 
This  fact  indicates  a  close  relationship. 


160         LE   CAUONS    EVIDENCE     [chap. 

Transvaal  by  the  Land  League.  In  reply  to  a 
demand  for  an  audit  of  the  Land  League  funds, 
received  from  New  York  in  the  following  year, 
Egan  appealed  to  these  facts,  specifying  the 
expenditure  involved,  as  proof  that  no  audit 
could  with  safety  be  allowed.* 

Mr.  Morley  dismisses  this  House  of  Commons 
interview  by  suggesting  "  that  the  spy  talked  the 
Fenian  doctrine  of  physical  force,  and  that  Mr. 
Parnell  listened."  But  this  bespeaks  not  only  pre- 
judice, but  ignorance  of  salient  facts.  The  inter- 
view was  not,  as  he  supposes,  an  isolated  incident. 
It  was  an  important  step  in  the  Parnell  move- 
1 1  lent.  A  glance  back  to  an  earlier  chapter  will  ex- 
plain its  significance.!  The  compact  of  the  "New 
Departure  "  was  that  the  secret  organization  of 
oath-bound  Fenians  should  join  forces  with  the 
Parliamentarians.  The  Fenians  were  not  ex- 
pected to  abandon  their  aims,  nor  even  to  vary 
their  methods,  but  merely  to  dissemble  for  a 
time,  and  give  a  tacit  support  to  the  open  move- 
ment. Hut  the  conspirators  at  home  were 
thwarting  ParnelTs  work  by  active  opposition. 

Hence  the  need  of  Le  Caron's  help.  Hence 
the  appeal  made  through  him,  first  to  John 
Devoy,  the  apostle  of  the  New  Departure,  and 
then  to  Sullivan  and  Hynes,  the  Clan-na-Gael 
leaders  who  were  fathering  it.      It  would  have 

*  Sec  p.  142,  ante. 

t  Chap,  viii.j  sec  especially  pp.  85-87,  ante. 


xv]  PARNELL'S  FENIANISM  161 

been  futile  for  Parnell  to  have  asked  a  leading 
Clan-na-Gael  man  to  undertake  such  a  mission 
without  giving  him  the  assurances  he  did.  In- 
deed, it  might  have  done  positive  harm ;  for 
Devoy  was  an  active  Fenian  of  an  advanced 
type,  and  Sullivan  and  Hynes  were  bitter  and 
unscrupulous  advocates  of  force.  He  was  bound, 
therefore,  not  merely  to  listen,  in  case  "  the  spy 
talked  the  Fenian  doctrine,"  but  to  give  clear 
expression  to  that  doctrine  himself.  It  was 
necessary,  in  fact,  to  bring  Le  Caron  to  the 
very  state  of  mind  in  which  he  visited  my  house 
that  night. 

If  we  want  to  know  the  real  Parnell,  we  must 
look  to  what  his  biographers  and  friends  have 
written  of  him,  and  not  to  Mr.  Morley's  pages. 
When  he  entered  Parliament,  Mr.  Barry  O'Brien 
tells  us  (and  his  statement  is  confirmed  by  the 
authorities  he  cites),  "  his  whole  stock  of  infor- 
mation about  Ireland  was  limited  to  the  history 
of  the  Manchester  Martyrs.  He  could  talk  of 
them,  but  he  could  not  talk  of  anything  else." 
He  took  the  Fenian  view  of  their  crime,  for  he 
was  a  Fenian  at  heart.  The  same  competent 
authority  tells  us  also  that  "  he  rode  into  power 
on  the  shoulders  of  the  Fenians."  For  "  without 
the  help  of  the  Fenians  no  man  could  lead  the 
Home  Rule  movement."  The  Home  Rule 
Confederation  of  Great  Britain  was  started  by 
a   member  of  the  Fenian  "  Supreme  Council," 

Y 


162      LE   CARON'S    EVIDENCE        [chap. 

and  "  it  was  always  under  the  control  of  the 
Fenians."'  And  so  when  Parnell  talked  treason 
and  war  on  Fenian  platforms  "he  spoke  the 
faith  that  was  in  him."  What  distinguished 
him  from  the  working  Fenians  was  his  extra- 
ordinary ability  and  his  no  less  extraordinary 
ignorance.  For,  again  wre  are  told,  "  he  was 
ignorant  of  public  affairs,  and  he  read  no  books.1' 
And  again,"  he  hated  England  before  he  entered 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  his  hatred  was 
intensified  by  his  Parliamentary  experience." 
Intense  unreasoning  hatred  of  England  was,  in 
fact,  the  ruling  passion  of  his  political  life. 

Such  was  the  real  Parnell,  as  contrasted  with 
the  mythical  Parnell  of  Mr.  Morley's  book. 
And  such  was  the  man  to  whom  Mr.  Gladstone 
wished  to  entrust  the  destinies  of  Ireland." 

I  must  not  omit  to  notice  that  events  which 
followed  in  America  afford  definite  confirmation 
ol'  Le  Caron's  statement.  "The  August  Con- 
vention," referred  to  in  his  Paris  letters,  quoted 
some  pages  back,f  wras  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Clan-na-Gael.     It  assembled  in  Chicago  on 


*  No  one  citi  turn  kick  to  Mr.  Morley's  hook  after  reading 
what  ParneU's  persona]  and  political  friends  have  said  about  him, 
without  a  sense  of  impatience,  bordering  on  indignation.  He  does 
not  eem  to  have  read  any  l>ook<  of  the  class  of  Mr.  Barry  ( ►"Brian's 
'■Lit,-  ot  Parnell/'  Mr.  William  O'Brien's  "Recollections,"  Mr. 
T.  P.  O'Connor's  "  Parnell  Movement/'  etc.,  etc.  His  pages  are  not 
In  tory,  tint  a  political  romance  by  a  philosopher  with  a  hero  and 
a  tad. 

t  P.  156,  '/«/' . 


xv]   CLAN-NA-GAEL  CONVENTION   163 

August  3,  1881,  and  remained  in  session  for  a 
week.  Egan  was  unable  to  attend,  but  he  sent, 
as  his  representative,  one  John  O'Connor,  an 
active  and  trusted  agent  of  the  conspiracy,  whose 
many  aliases  embarrassed  me  at  times.  The 
formal  approval  given  to  the  New  Departure  at 
this  convention,  as  mentioned  in  a  previous 
chapter,  was  the  result  of  Le  Caron's  mission. 
And  in  furtherance  of  it  the  following  resolution 
was  adopted : — 

"  It  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  both 
branches  of  the  Revolutionary  Directory  should 
devote  themselves  to  the  work  of  revolution ; 
and  if  such  bodies  cannot  give  their  approval  to 
public  movements  that  are  intended  to  promote 
the  political  and  social  regeneration  of  Ireland, 
when  they  are  supported  by  a  large  proportion 
of  the  Irish  people,  they  will  at  least  refrain  from 
antagonizing  them." 

This  resolution  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  in 
Chicago  was  the  echo  of  what  took  place  in  the 
Library  corridor  of  the  House  of  Commons  on 
May  23. 

I  cannot  close  this  Le  Caron  chapter  without 
some  further  personal  references  to  this  most 
interesting  man.  In  his  book,  already  quoted, 
he  speaks  of  my  unceasing  care  for  his  personal 
safety.  To  that  care  his  safety  was  largely 
due,  for  he  was  one  of  those  extraordinary  men 


164       LE   GABON'S    EVIDENCE       [chap. 

who  seem  incapable  of  fear,  and  therefore  in- 
different to  danger.  This  sometimes  led  him  to 
do  reckless  things.  But  he  knew  only  of  dangers 
due  to  his  own  folly.  I  had  the  greatest  difficulty 
at  times  in  using  his  information  without  betray- 
ing him.  The  matter  of  the  Parnell  interview 
was  one  of  many  instances  of  what  I  mean. 

An  article  from  Davitt,  in  the  Nineteenth 
Century  of  March,  1890,  drew  from  Le  Caron 
a  letter  to  the  Times,  in  which,  referring  to  that 
interview,  he  said,  "  The  written  record  has  been 
in  possession  of  the  Government  since  the  night 
in  question."  But  the  Government  did  not  re- 
ceive the  record  as  promptly  as  he  supposed  ; 
else  he  might  not  have  been  alive  in  1889  to 
give  evidence  at  the  Commission.  I  have 
seldom  been  in  a  more  embarrassing  position. 
For  Sir  William  Harcourt  had  a  hint  that  some- 
thing of  the  kind  had  occurred,  and  if  I  had 
given  him  the  facts  immediately,  enough  would 
certainly  have  leaked  out  to  betray  Le  Caron. 
So  the  course  I  adopted  was  to  let  a  month 
pass,  and  then  to  tell  the  story  as  "received 
from  my  principal  American  Fenian  informant " 
— a  way  of  putting  it  which  had  the  merit  of 
bring  strictly  true. 

Though  I  had  been  in  communication  with 
Le  Caron  for  so  many  years,  and  had  seen  him 
from  time  to  time  on  his  occasional  visits  to 
England,    I     never    really    knew   him    until   he 


xv]     LE  CARON'S  PERSONALITY       165 

settled  in  London  during  the  illness  which 
ended  fatally  on  April  1,  1894.  With  all  his 
cynicism  and  coldness  of  manner,  he  was  a 
remarkably  attractive  man.  The  doctor  who 
attended  him — a  stranger  called  in  by  chance 
— became  his  devoted  friend.  He  came  to  see 
me  about  him,  to  urge  the  importance  of  having 
a  consultation  such  as  was  beyond  Le  Caron's 
means.  I  appealed  to  an  old  friend  of  mine, 
whose  chief  pleasure  in  life,  I  believe,  was  doing 
kindnesses — I  mean  the  late  Gilbart  Smith,  of 
Harley  Street ;  and  no  sooner  did  he  visit  Le 
Caron  than  he  became  a  warm  "  Le  Caronite." 
Others  in  the  same  way  fell  under  the  charm  of 
his  personality. 

I  visited  him  frequently  at  this  time,  and 
thus  it  was,  1  repeat,  that  I  came  to  know  him. 
At  first  we  used  to  talk  over  his  adventures  ; 
and  when  his  illness  grew  upon  him,  and  he 
was  bed-ridden,  we  often  spoke  on  subjects  of 
which  I  will  make  no  mention  here.  He  seemed 
absolutely  unsullied  and  unspoiled  by  the  strange 
vicissitudes  of  his  life  story.  I  came  to  esteem 
him  very  highly,  and  what  is  more  germane  to 
the  subject  of  these  pages,  I  became  increasingly 
impressed  by  his  very  remarkable  respect  for  the 
truth. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

THE    CASE    FOR    HOME    RULE 

Tin:  origin  of  this  book  is  explained  in  its  open- 
ing pages.  It  was  intended  to  be  "  a  story 
without  a  moral."  The  time  seemed  to  have 
coi ne  when  the  events  dealt  with  in  Mr.  Morley's 
Irish  chapters  might  be  reviewed  as  matters  of 
history  ;  the  Home  Rule  controversy  seemed 
to  have  passed  out  of  "  the  sphere  of  practical 
politics.'1 

But  just  as,  in  nature,  the  changing  skies 
sometimes  belie  all  meteorological  forecasts,  so 
the  political  atmosphere  has  recently  changed  with 
extraordinary  suddenness.  The  Irish  Question 
is  with  us  once  again,  and  the  preceding 
chapters,  which  but  yesterday  would  have  had 
a  purely  academic  interest,  are  now  germane  to 
one  of  the  most  important  of  the  practical 
problems  of  the  day. 

It  would  be  the  merest  affectation  to  ignore 
(liis.  And  therefore,  while  I  refuse  to  come 
down    into   the   arena  of  party  politics,*  I    have 

I'uiiiig  all  my  official  life  I  kept  clear  <»t  part]  politics,  never 


ch.  xvi]  HOSTILITY  TO  THE  UNION    167 

altered  and  added  here  and  there,  in  order  to 
bring  the  book  into  line  with  the  events  of  the 
day.  And  in  conclusion,  I  propose  to  discuss 
the  grounds  upon  which  "  Home  Rule "  is 
commended  as  a  solution  of  the  Irish  contro- 
versy. I  do  not  impugn  the  integrity  of  those 
who  advocate  it,  nor  will  I  impute  to  them 
unworthy  motives.  The  question  is  not  whether 
they  are  honest  and  sincere,  but  whether  they 
are  right  ?  And  it  is  my  wish  to  deal  with  this 
question  in  the  spirit  in  which  thoughtful  men 
will  review  it  a  generation  hence. 

And  first,  it  may  be  well  to  seek  for  an 
explanation  of  the  eagerness — the  bitterness, 
I  might  say — with  which  so  many  Irishmen 
desire  to  sever  the  union  with  Great  Britain. 
Any  attempt  to  account  for  this  by  present-day 
grievances  is  futile.  Not  only  do  the  four  and 
a  half  million  inhabitants  of  Ireland  enjoy  the 
same  rights  as  the  thirty-seven  millions  of  Great 
Britain,  but  they  exercise  a  wholly  dispro- 
portionate share  of  political  power.  And  the 
agricultural  classes  of  that  country  derive  special 
benefits  from  the  State,  to  which  the  peasantry 
of  Great  Britain  are  strangers.  In  every  respect, 
in  fact,  the  balance  of  advantage  is  on  the  side 
of  the  Irish.     Why,  then,  the  intense  antipathy 

having  even  voted  at  a  parliamentary  election,  until  Mr.  Gladstone 
issued  his  historic  appeal  for  a  majority  to  make  him  independent 
of  the  Parnellites. 


168   THE  CASE  FOR  HOME  RULE  [chap. 

to  England,  which  alone  accounts  for  the  agita- 
tion for  Home  Rule  ? 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  not  doubtful. 
The  hatred  of  England,  which  was  the  ruling 
motive  in  Parnell's  political  career,  which  betrays 
itself  in  the  acts  and  words  of  the  present 
parliamentary  leaders,  and  which  burns  in  the 
breasts  of  multitudes  of  the  Irish  people,  is  a 
legacy  from  evil  days  long  past.  There  are  two 
sides  to  most  questions,  and  the  philosophical 
historian  has  something  to  say  in  vindication  of 
Cromwell's  policy,  and  in  palliation  of  the  penal 
laws.  But  when  he  comes  to  review  the  legisla- 
tion by  which  every  Irish  industry  was  deliberately 
and  systematically  ruined,  nothing  can  be  urged 
either  to  lessen  or  to  cloak  its  infamy.  Every 
class  was  affected  by  it.  And  it  not  only  im- 
poverished the  people,  it  demoralised  them.  The 
record  of  it  makes  an  Irishman's  blood  boil ;  and 
no  language  can  be  extreme  in  denunciation 
of  it. 

And  in  the  case  of  men  whose  minds  are 
inflamed  and  embittered  by  brooding  over  these 
evil  memories  of  the  past,  every  proof  that 
Home  Rule  would  prejudice  the  greatness, 
and  possibly  endanger  the  safety,  of  England, 
only  serves  to  supply  them  with  an  additional 
motive  for  insisting  upon  the  demand.  What 
then  should  be  the  attitude  of  statesmanship 
toward  such  a  problem  ?     What  the  view  of  that 


xvi]  IRISH  HATRED  OF  ENGLAND  169 

broad-minded  common  sense  which  is  our  best 
guide  in  all  affairs  of  ordinary  life  ? 

A  certain  man  did  my  great-grandfather  a 
shameful  and  cruel  wrong.  Woe  I  to  ask 
whether  I  am  not  justified  in  hating  and  seeking 
to  injure  his  great-grandson,  1  should  be  regarded 
as  vindictive  and  evil-minded.  I  should  be  told 
to  let  the  dead  past  lie,  and  instead  of  brooding 
over  the  wrong,  to  dismiss  it  from  my  thoughts. 
Why  then  should  not  this  same  advice  be 
deemed  wholesome  and  wise  in  the  case  here  in 
view  ?  And  if  history  will  accord  to  Mr. 
Gladstone  his  full  meed  of  praise  for  refusing 
to  listen  to  the  tale  of  the  ancient  wrongs  of 
Ireland,  while  lending  a  willing  ear  to  every 
demand  for  the  redress  of  present  injustice,  will 
it  not  condemn  with  unsparing  severity  his  later 
policy  of  inflaming  passion  and  hate  by  appeals 
to  a  past  which  all  good  men  and  all  wise  men 
would  wish  to  be  forgotten  ? 

But  the  passion  and  the  hate  are  real.  And 
do  they  not  give  proof  that  the  Legislative 
Union  has  been  a  failure  ?  Let  us  test  this  by 
the  facts.  It  is  a  matter  of  course  that  those 
who  had  most  to  lose  were  the  greatest  sufferers 
from  the  infamous  laws  by  which  Ireland  was 
impoverished.  Therefore,  speaking  generally, 
and  dealing  with  classes  of  the  population,  as 
distinguished  from  individuals,  it  was  the 
Protestants    who    were    the    principal    victims. 

z 


170   THE  CASE  FOR  HOME  RULE  [chap. 

Naturally,  therefore,  the  Protestants  were  the 
most  hostile  to  England.  It  was  the  Protestants 
who  gave  irresistible  force  to  the  agitation  that 
led  to  the  establishment  of  Grattan's  Parliament. 
And  from  the  Protestants  came  the  most  power- 
ful opposition  to  the  I  iiion. 

With  reference  to  this  anti-Irish  commercial 
legislation,  1  quote  the  following  from  Mr.  Swift 
MacNeilTs  valuable  handbook  on  the  subject: — 

•  It  afflicted  every  Irishman,  whether  at  home 
or  abroad,  with  a  sense  of  intolerable  wrong, 
and  created  that  passionate  resentment  towards 
England  which  has  been  transmitted  to  succeed- 
ing  generations.  'One  of  the  most  obvious 
consequences,'  says  Mr.  Uecky,  '  was  that  for  the 
space  of  about  a  century  Ireland  underwent  a 
steady  process  of  depletion,  most  men  of  energy, 
ambition,  talent,  or  character,  being  driven  from 
her  shores.'  k  If  the  ambition  of  an  Irishman  lay 
in  the  paths  of  manufacture  and  commerce,  he 
was  almost  compelled  to  emigrate,  for  industrial 
and  commercial  enterprise  had  been  deliberately 
crushed. '  This  legislation,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, fell  most  severely  on  the  Protestant  popu- 
lation of  Ireland,  although,  of  course,  it  grievously 
affected  every  class,  and,  indeed,  every  member 
of  the  community.  Twenty  thousand  Puritans 
left  Ulster  on  the  destruction  of  the  woollen 
trade.  '  Until  the  spell  of  tyranny  was  broken 
in  1782,  annual  shiploads  of  families  poured 
themselves  out  from  Belfast  and   Londonderry. 


xvi]   ATTITUDE  OF  PROTESTANTS  171 

The  resentment  they  carried  with  them  continued 
to  burn  in  their  new  homes ;  and,  in  the  War  of 
Independence,  England  had  no  fiercer  enemies 
than  the  great-grandsons  of  the  Presbyterians 
who  had  held  Ulster  against  Tyrconnel.' "  * 

But  what  is  the  present  attitude  of  the 
Protestants  of  Ireland  towards  England  and  the 
Union?  There  are  a  few-  Protestant  Home 
Rulers,  no  doubt ;  but  in  tnis  twentieth  century 
they  are  so  few  that  they  might  rank  as  "  freaks." 
Resentment  caused  by  the  disestablishment  of 
the  Irish  Church  brought  recruits  from  the 
Protestant  ranks  to  the  standard  raised  by  Isaac 
Butt,  himself  a  Protestant.  Parnell  was  a 
Protestant ;  and  some  half  dozen  of  Mr. 
Redmond's  lieutenants  are  Protestants.  But 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Home  Rule  Bill  evoked  hostile 
petitions,  signed  corporately  and  with  practical 
unanimity,  from  every  Protestant  community  in 
Ireland. 

Nor  is  this  all.  As  Mr.  MacNeill  indicates, 
no  section  of  the  Protestants  suffered  more 
from  English  tyranny  than  the  Presbyterians. 
And  moreover,  in  respect  of  some  of  the  features 
of  the  Penal  Laws,  Presbyterian  sympathy  was 
with  the  Roman  Catholics  and  against  the 
Anglicans.     It   is   not    strange,   therefore,    that 

*  "  English  Interference  with  Irish  Industries,"  pp.  56,57.  The 
sentences  marked  as  quotations  are  from  Lecky  and  Froude,  the 
exact  references  being  given  by  Mr.  MacNeill. 


172   THE  CASE  FOR  HOME  RULE  [chap. 

the  Irish  Presbyterians  were  the  most  stalwart 
and  bitter  of  England's  enemies.  And  yet, 
while  in  188G  the  vast  majority  of  the  Irish 
Presbyterian  ministers  were  politically  Glad- 
stonian  Liberals — the  exceptions  were  perhaps 
about  a  score — there  were  but  three  dissentients 
to  their  Church's  protest  and  appeal  against 
Mr.  Gladstone's  policy. 

The  question  came  up  again  in  1893,  when 
Mr.  Gladstone's  second  Home  Rule  Bill  was 
before  the  country.  In  the  General  Assembly 
of  that  communion,  as  we  all  know,  the  elders 
sit  and  vote  with  the  ministers ;  and  the  elders, 
like  the  ministers,  were  almost  all  political 
followers  of  Mr.  Gladstone.  And  yet  in  the 
Assembly  which  met  in  March  of  that  year — 
one  of  the  largest  ever  convened — Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Home  Rule  Bill  found  only  four 
supporters  ;  and,  after  debate,  a  resolution 
condemning  it  was  carried  by  a  unanimous 
vote. 

How,  then,  can  it  be  said,  in  face  of  such 
facts  as  these,  that  the  Union  is  a  failure  ? 
Here  we  have  large,  prosperous,  and  powerful 
classes  of  the  population — the  very  classes,  more- 
over,  that  were  the  greatest  opponents  of  the 
I  j i ion — now  united,  thoroughly  and  enthu- 
siastically united,  in  favour  of  the  Union. 

lint  I  would  guard  against  the  inference,  as 
mischievous  as  it  is  false,  that  in  regard  to  this 


xvi]    NOT  A  QUESTION  OF  CREED     173 

Home  Rule  question  there  is  a  cleavage  between 
the  Protestants  and  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
Ireland.*  The  Home  Rule  vote  depends  en- 
tirely upon  the  lower  strata  of  the  electorate, 
of  whom,  in  three  of  the  four  Provinces,  the  vast 
majority  are  Roman  Catholics.  If  the  franchise 
were  raised  to  a  level  which  would  exclude  the 
ignorant  masses,  the  Home  Rule  majority  would 
disappear.  It  is  not  a  question  of  creed,  but  of 
education  and  material  prosperity.  Here  again, 
of  course,  there  are  exceptions,  and  they  are 
more  numerous,  perhaps,  than  among  the  Pro- 
testants. But  exceptions  should  be  disregarded 
in  dealing  with  a  great  question  of  this  character ; 
and  taking  Ireland  as  a  whole,  it  is  indisputable 
that  all  that  is  most  intelligent  and  prosperous 
in  the  community  is  in  favour  of  the  Union,  and 
opposed  to  Home  Rule.f 

And  this  fact  warrants  the  belief  that  other 
classes,  now  hostile,  will  yet  be  won  over  to  the 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  VI.,  p.  218,  post. 

t  I  met  my  friend  Lord  Morris  one  afternoon  while  the  last 
Home  Rule  Bill  was  before  Parliament,  and  he  carried  me  off  with 
him  to  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Commons.  There  he  was  at  once 
surrounded  by  a  group  of  old  acquaintances,  including  some  of  the 
Nationalists.  To  them  he  put  the  challenge,  "Can  you  give  me  the 
name  of  any  man  of  eminence  in  any  profession  or  calling  in  Ireland 
who  is  in  favour  of  Home  Rule  ?  Take  the  barristers,  the  doctors, 
the  merchants,  the  traders,  the  gentry — name  any  leading  man 
among  them  who  is  a  Home  Ruler."  It  was  but  an  exaggerated 
statement  of  an  incontrovertible  fact.  With  a  very  few  exceptions, 
even  the  Home  Rule  members  are  the  merest  "carpet-baggers." 
Men  of  weight  or  substance  cannot  be  found  to  champion  the 
Nationalist  demand. 


174   THE  CASE  FOR  HOME  RULE  [chap. 

side  of  the  Union.  This  hope  may  be  entertained 
with  special  confidence  in  the  ease  of  the  peasants 
who  have  so  recently  become  owners  of  their 
farms.  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  expect  that, 
having  thus  obtained  for  the  first  time  ''a  stake 
in  the  country,"  they  will  come  to  share  the 
views  of  "the  propertied  classes,"  to  which,  in 
their  humble  way,  they  now  belong? 

When,  therefore,  we  consider  the  present 
state  of  Ireland,  with  an  adequate  knowledge  of 
its  past,  are  we  not  justified  in  maintaining  that 
the  policy  of  Pitt,  so  far  from  being  a  failure,  has 
proved  a  signal  success  '{ 

I  have  already  exposed  the  falseness  of  the 
prevalent  belief  that  the  need  of  what  is  called 
"coercion"  in  Ireland  is  due  in  any  way  to  the 
Union.  If  a  country  ought  to  be  governed  on 
the  principles  on  which  we  manage  cricket  and 
football  clubs,  and  rules  must  be  observed,  no 
matter  how  they  operate,  then  it  must  be  acknow- 
ledged that  our  efforts  to  govern  Ireland  have 
failed  :  and  all  that  can  be  said  is,  that  the  failure 
did  not  begin  with  the  nineteenth  century  ;  for, 
in  this  matter,  Westminster  will  compare  fa vour- 
ably  with  College  (ireen. 

Hut  upon  the  general  question  here  involved 
much  remains  to  be  said.  Common  sense  should 
save  us  from  the  absurdity  of  supposing  that  a 
law  which  is  intended  to  suppress  crime  is 
objectionable  because  it  is  coercive,  for  coercion 


xvi]       COERCIVE  LEGISLATION         175 

is  the  aim  of  the  entire  criminal  code.  The  only 
practical  question,  therefore,  in  such  a  case  is  not 
whether  the  law  is  coercive,  but  whether  it  is 
necessary  ? 

And  as  the  most  elementary  function  of  a 
Government  is  to  protect  the  peaceful  and  law- 
abiding,  it  fails  in  its  primary  duty  if  it  does  not 
make  the  coercion  adequate  to  that  end.  For  a 
Government  that  refuses  to  resort  to  coercion  in 
dealing  with  law-breakers  forfeits  every  claim 
not  only  to  the  respect  but  to  the  allegiance  of 
the  community.  Therefore,  I  repeat,  when  a 
Government  seeks  increased  powers  to  enable  it 
to  discharge  this  primary  duty,  the  only  legiti- 
mate question  is,  whether  the  enactment  asked 
for  be  necessary,  and  if  necessary,  whether  it  be 
adequate.  The  question  whether  it  is  "  ordinary  " 
or  "  extraordinary "  may  be  left  to  the  philo- 
sophers. 

Coercive  it  must  be  if  it  is  to  be  effectual. 
But  what  is  the  meaning  of  "  ordinary  law  ? "  It 
cannot  mean  the  existing  law,  for  that  would 
imply  a  veto  upon  all  new  legislation  against 
crime.  I  presume,  then,  that  it  must  mean  a 
law  which  is  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the 
existing  law.  But  this  is  so  vague  that  it  can 
best  be  dealt  with  by  a  test  case.  Here,  for 
example,  is  a  specially  characteristic  provision 
contained  in  the  "  coercion  "  code  now  actually 
in  force  in  certain  places — 


176    THE  CASE  FOR  HOME  RULE  [chap. 

"  It  shall  be  lawful  for  any  constable  to  take 
into  custody  without  a  warrant  .  .  .  all  persons 
whom  he  shall  find  between  sunset  and  the  hour 
of  eight  in  the  morning,  lying  or  loitering  in  any 
highway,  yard,  or  other  place,  and  not  giving  a 
satisfactory  account  of  themselves." 

Now  this  clause  is  not  a  part  of  the  general 
law  of  the  land,  its  operation  being  limited  to 
certain  areas  ;  and  perhaps  it  may  seem  to  be  out 
of  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  general  law. 
Any  one  living  in  a  district  to  which  it  applies  is 
apparently  liable  to  be  carried  off  to  a  police 
station  by  any  young  constable  who  chooses  to 
think  he  is  loitering.  In  a  word,  it  is  marked  by 
some  of  the  worst  features  of  what  is  called  a 
"  Coercion  Act."  All  this  must  in  fairness  be 
conceded.  And  yet,  if  what  I  have  urged  be 
well  founded,  such  a  law  might  legitimately  be 
put  in  force  in  any  part  of  Ireland  where  the 
community  needs  such  protection. 

But,  some  one  will  indignantly  exclaim,  "  It 
would  not  be  tolerated  in  England  for  a  single 
hour."  To  which  I  make  answer,  that  it  has 
been  tolerated  in  the  Metropolis  of  England  for 
at  least  two  generations.  It  is  not  quoted  from 
the  Irish  "Coercion  Act"  at  all  ;  it  is  a  part  of 
the  coercion  code  known  as  the  Metropolitan 
Police  Acts — a  coercion  code  the  operation  of 
which  explains  in  a  measure  the  extraordinary 
fact  that  in  this,  the  largest  city  in  the  world,  life 


xvi]  THE  POLICE  ACTS  177 

and  property  are  safer  than  in  any  other  of  the 
world's  great  centres  of  population.  Peculiar 
circumstances  make  exceptional  laws  necessary 
in  the  Metropolis ;  and  a  similar  remark  applies 
to  parts  of  Ireland.  But  this  does  not  prove  that 
the  British  Constitution  is  a  failure ;  neither  does 
it  prove  that  the  Union  is  a  failure. 

And  we  all  know  that  if  at  any  time  the 
forces  of  disorder  should  in  any  measure  get  the 
upper  hand  in  London,  a  more  stringent  "  Coer- 
cion Act "  would  be  promptly  obtained  and  put 
in  force.  Or  if,  under  the  influence  of  philo- 
sophical theories,  or  rhetorical  clap-trap  about 
"  coercion  "  and  "  ordinary  law,"  the  Government 
of  the  day  failed  of  its  duty  in  this  respect,  it 
would  be  sternly  called  to  account.  Indeed,  if 
Parliament  were  in  session,  such  a  Government 
would  not  survive  for  a  week.  But  the  unfortunate 
loyalists  of  Ireland  have  no  political  power,  and 
so,  when  their  interests  are  involved,  the  theories 
and  the  clap-trap  prevail. 

My  purpose  here  is,  not  to  defend  any  par- 
ticular "  Coercion  Act,"  but  to  expose  the  error 
and  folly  of  the  popular  outcry  against  legislation 
of  that  character.  Under  the  influence  of  this 
outcry  an  attitude  of  criminal  apathy  is  apt  to 
be  maintained  toward  outbreaks  of  violence  in 
Ireland,  of  a  kind  that  in  England  would  be 
suppressed  promptly,  and  at  any  cost.  And 
then,   with   the   swing   of  the  pendulum,  there 

2  A 


ITS   THE  CASE  FOB  HOME  RULE  [chap. 

follows  some  extreme  measure,  resort  to  which 
is  made  necessary  by  the  preceding  neglect  of 
the  ordinary  duty  of  a  Government. 

In  the  time  of  the  Land  League,  for  example, 
the  Government  remained  passive,  while  all  law 
was  being  defied  in  Ireland,  and  the  law-abiding 
were  being  outraged  and  terrorised.  Then  Mr. 
Forster  was  allowed  to  make  the  attempt,  with 
inadequate  means,  to  grapple  with  the  evil. 
And  when  the  crisis  was  over  and  the  danger 
past,  an  extraordinary  statute,  which  would  have 
prevented  nine- tenths  of  the  appalling  crime  of 
the  League,  was  rushed  through  Parliament  in  a 
spirit  of  passion  and  panic.  And  folly  reached 
a  climax  when  this  Coercion  Act  was  made  a 
stalking-horse  for  Home  Rule. 

When  the  Dutch  farmers  of  the  Transvaal 
gave  proof  of  their  sturdincss  and  bravery 
on  I  lie  battlefield,  it  was  not  strange  that  even 
in  England  there  were  many  who  wished 
them  success  in  their  struggle  for  independence. 
Hut  to  hold  that  a  wild,  mad  orgy  of  violence 
and  crime,  as  cowardly  as  it  was  hideous,  gave 
proof  that  the  peasantry  of  Ireland  ought  to 
have  self-government— this  may  be  statesman- 
ship, hut  to  common  men  it  seems  worthy  of 
Bedlam. 

One  more  word  upon  this  subject.  There  is 
not  a  sane  man  in  Ireland,  of  any  creed  or  party, 
who    does    not    know    in    his    heart,    whatever 


xvi]    A  PARNELL-DAVITT  STORY     179 

he  may  profess  with  his  lips,  that  no  Irish 
Parliament  could  govern  that  country  without 
"  coercion." 

Mr.  Michael  Davitt  tells  the  story  that  in 
the  course  of  a  conversation  with  Parnell  as  to 
how  the  Home  Rule  Parliament  would  set  to 
work  for  the  reformation  of  the  country,  he 
asked  the  question,  "  Suppose  you  were  Prime 
Minister  in  the  morning,  how  would  you  begin  ?  " 
"  I  think,  Davitt,"  was  Parnell's  reply,  "  I  should 
begin  by  locking  you  up."  Many  a  true  word  is 
spoken  in  jest. 

And  suppose  the  Irish  Parliament  began  to 
"  coerce  "  the  loyalists  ?  What,  then,  would  be 
the  attitude  of  the  Imperial  Parliament  ?  For 
no  one  need  imagine  that  the  grant  of  Home 
Rule  would  relieve  the  Imperial  Parliament 
of  the  incubus  of  Ireland.  The  Irish  question 
Avould  merely  assume  a  new  phase.  Mr. 
Morley's  narrative  makes  it  plain  that  if  the 
first  Home  Rule  Bill  had  become  law,  and  Mr. 
Parnell  had  been  Prime  Minister  in  Ireland  in 
1891,  the  events  of  that  year  would  have  raised 
an  Irish  question  of  a  more  difficult  and 
dangerous  kind  than  any  we  have  known  for 
a  century — a  conflict  of  the  kind  which  menaced 
the  safety  of  the  kingdom  in  the  days  of 
Grattan's  Parliament." 

*  See  "The  Irish  Parliament/'  by  Mr.  Swift  MacNeill,  M.P., 
chap.  iii. 


180   THE  CASE  FOK  HOME  RULE  [chap. 

And  the  wit  of  man  could  not  frame  a  Home 
Rule  scheme  which  would  avert  such  a  conflict. 
For  what  the  Nationalists  demand  is  "  national 
self-government."  They  regard  the  government 
of  Ireland  by  the  Imperial  Parliament  as  a 
usurpation.  How  long,  then,  would  an  Irish 
Parliament  submit  to  the  control  of  the  Imperial 
Parliament  ?  For  "  control  "  is  merely  a  euphe- 
mism for  "  government."  How  long  would  the 
craving  for  a  separate  and  independent  Parlia- 
ment be  satisfied  by  "  a  legislative  body  "  which 
would  be  neither  separate  nor  independent,  but 
thoroughly  subordinate  to  the  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment ?  * 

Educated  and  prosperous  Ireland  demands 
the  maintenance  of  the  Union.  But  no  sec- 
tion of  the  community  would  be  satisfied  with 
any  compromise  between  absolute  equality 
under  the  Union,  and  complete  independence. 
The  Nationalists  are  perfectly  honest  in  this 
matter.  For  while  they  avow  their  readiness 
to  accept  such  a  compromise  to-day,  they 
declare  as  plainly  that  they  cannot  bind 
those  who  will  come  after  them.     Home  Rule 


*  When  addressing  his  constituents  at  Dunfermline  on  December 
29,  1905,  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman  was  asked  "Whether  lie 
was  in  favour  of  granting  a  separate  and  independent  Parliament 
for  Ireland."  And  he  rejdied,  "No;  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other.  Any  legislative  body  for  Ireland  that  I  have  ever  voted  for 
was  to  be  in  subordination  to  the  Imperial  Parliament"  (the 
I  n„ i-  .  December  '-'A)   1!R)5). 


xvi]     THE  CONFIDENCE  TRICK         181 

is   merely   "  the    confidence   trick "   on   a   huge 
scale.* 

*  The  Irish  Nationalists  are  no  fools,  but  can  the  same  he  said 
for  their  British  allies,  who  imagine  that  the  grant  of  Home  Rule 
would  rid  them  of  "The  Irish  Question  "?  Under  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Home  Rule  scheme  Ireland  would  probably  occupy  as  much  of  the 
time  of  the  Imperial  Parliament  as  at  present ;  and  the  danger  of  a 
conflict  between  the  two  Parliaments  would  be  constant. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

MR.    GLADSTONE    AND    UtH    POLICY 

Mr.  Morley's  "Life  of  Gladstone"  is  a  great 
monument  to  the  greatest  Englishman  of  his 
generation.  But  multitudes  will  join  in  de- 
precating the  prominence  with  which  the 
author's  political  opinions  are  obtruded  in  its 
pages.  The  manner  in  which  the  Home  Rule 
controversy  is  presented  in  the  later  portion  of 
the  book  destroys  the  perspective  in  which  the 
generation  now  growing  to  manhood  should  be 
taught  to  view  Mr.  Gladstone's  career.  His 
sudden  change  of  front  upon  the  Irish  Question 
was  so  extraordinary  that  even  among  his  friends 
there  were  not  a  few  who  whispered  that  his 
head  was  giving  way,  while  it  led  others  to 
mutter  doubts  whether  lust  of  power  had  not 
corrupted  his  heart.  But  the  moment  the  hand 
of  death  removed  him  from  the  arena  of  faction, 
all  this  was  forgotten,  and  without  a  dissentient 
voice,  men  of  every  party  joined  in  a  tribute  of 
national  homage  to  his  memory. 

While,  therefore,  the  Home  Rule  campaign 
could    not    be   ignored    in   such  a  biography,    it 


chap,  xvii]       MR.  GLADSTONE  183 

might  well  have  been  treated  in  the  spirit  which 
ruled  during  the  days  of  public  mourning  that 
ended  with  his  burial  in  the  Abbey.  And  Mr. 
Morley  has  done  a  grievous  wrong  to  his  memory 
by  waving  over  his  grave  the  labarum  of  a  bitter 
conflict.  His  doing  so,  moreover,  seems  all  the 
more  unpardonable  in  view  of  the  fact,  disclosed 
in  the  recent  electoral  struggle,  that  the  majority, 
even  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  former  colleagues, 
repudiate  both  the  intention  and  the  wish  to 
revive  the  definite  Home  Rule  scheme,  either 
of  1886  or  of  1893. 

And  this  fact  suggests  a  tribute  to  his  personal 
influence,  which  Mr.  Morley \s  political  bias  has 
obscured.  To  him  Mr.  Gladstone's  conversion 
to  Home  Rule  is  only  a  further  proof  that  Home 
Rule  is  just  and  right.  But  with  most  of  us 
"the  people  "  is  not  a  synonym  for  "the  mob." 
And  respect  for  the  popular  voice  is  not  limited 
to  the  contents  of  the  ballot-boxes  in  which 
Irish  peasants  and  Land  Leaguers  and  moon- 
lighters cast  their  votes.  We  take  account  of 
the  opinions  of  the  educated  classes  in  that 
country,  and  of  the  overwhelming  majority  of 
the  English  electorate.  And  when  the  question 
is  raised,  how  it  was  that  Mr.  Gladstone  won 
such  a  large  measure  of  support  for  his  later  Irish 
policy,  we  find  the  answer  in  the  fact  that  he 
wielded  a  magician's  power  over  men.* 

*  Mr.  Bright's  words  are  worth  quoting  here  :  "If  Mr.  Gladstone's 


184     MR.  GLADSTONES  POLICY   [chap. 

And  his  power  depended,  not  merely  on  the 
qualities  which  raised  him  above  his  fellows,  but 
no  less  on  the  intensely  human  sympathies  that 
bound  them  to  him.  The  range  and  grasp  of 
his  mind  were  not  more  extraordinary  than  was 
the  readiness  with  whieh  he  could  instantly  turn 
away  from  affairs  of  the  highest  and  most  en- 
grossing nature,  to  give  a  hearing  to  any  one 
who  was  in  earnest  about  anything. 

Many  incidents  which  illustrate  this  appear 
in  his  biography.  And,  egotistical  though  it 
may  seem,  I  cannot  refrain  from  adding  my  own 
petty  quota  to  the  list.  When  our  affairs  in 
Egypt  and  the  Soudan  were  exciting  attention 
throughout  Europe  I  met  him  at  a  country 
house.  He  came  into  the  library  one  morning 
with  a  file  of  Foreign  Office  papers,  which  so 
engrossed  him  that,  as  he  sat  down  at  the  table 
at  which  I  was  writing,  he  seemed  wholly  un- 
conscious of  my  presence.  Having  finished  his 
perusal  of  them,  he  had  just  taken  up  his  pen, 
when  another  of  the  guests  entered  the  room 
and,  producing  a  Homer,  brought  a  certain 
passage  in  the  "  Odyssey  "  to  his  notice.  Mr. 
Gladstone  discussed  that  passage  as  though 
neither  Egypt  nor  the  Foreign  Office  had  any 
existence.     And  the  moment  he  was  left  alone 


#reat  authority  were  withdrawn  from  these  Hills,  I  douht  if  twenty 
memhers  outside  the  Irish  party  in  the  House  of  Commons  would 
support  them  "  (Letter  of  May  31,  1886). 


xvii]     MR.  GLADSTONE'S  POWER      185 

again,  he  resumed  his  pen,  and  wrote  an  official 
minute  of  grave  importance  about  Egypt.* 

Still  more  egotistical  is  what  I  am  about  to 
add.  I  learn  from  Mr.  Gladstone's  diary — 
quoted  in  the  "Life"— that  December  18,  1889, 
was  devoted  to  reviewing  and  reconsidering  the 
whole  Irish  Question,  with  a  view  to  discussing  it 
with  Farnell  on  his  historic  visit  to  Hawarden, 
which  began  that  afternoon.  And  yet,  on  that 
very  day,  Mr.  Gladstone  found  leisure  to  read  a 
book  of  mine,  and  to  write  me  a  sympathetic 
letter,  giving  me  some  valuable  criticisms  and 
suggestions.! 

As  has  been  said  a  thousand  times,  but  for 
the  spell  of  that  marvellous  personality  Home 
Rule  for  Ireland  would  never  have  taken  prac- 
tical shape  in  English  politics.  And  yet,  not- 
withstanding his  unrivalled  power  of  swaying 
the  minds  of  men,  Mr.  Gladstone's  seven  years' 
campaign  failed  to  win  a  single  convert  among 
the  educated  classes  in  that  country.^    It  behoves 

*  How  do  I  know  its  purport?  His  minute  was  perfectly  legible 
on  the  blotting-pad  he  used.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  I  refused  to 
trust  the  lives  of  my  informants  to  Ministers  of  State  !  But  I  was 
no  stranger  to  State  secrets,  and  I  kept  that  secret  to  myself. 

t  I  have  on  other  occasions  had  proof  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  courtesy 
and  kindness  in  letters  about  my  books.  But  in  this  instance  there 
was  no  reason  for  his  writing  to  me  at  all ;  for  he  was  aware  that 
the  book  was  sent  to  him  by  my  publishers  without  my  knowledge. 
And  to  me  the  most  extraordinary  part  of  it  was  that,  as  in  the  case 
of  every  other  communication  I  ever  received  from  him,  both  letter 
and  envelope  were  in  his  own  handwriting. 

t  The  Irish  petitions  against  the  Home  Rule  Bill  of  1893  had  five 
times  more  signatures  than  the  petitions  against  the  Bill  of  1886. 

2    B 


186     MR.  GLADSTONES  POLICY   [chap. 

us,  then,  to  dismiss  every  personal  element  from 
this  controversy,  and  to  review  dispassionately 
the  grounds  on  which  this  most  revolutionary 
measure  is  commended  to  us. 

The  following  summary  of  them  is  hased  on 
Mr.  Gladstones  speeches  and  Mr.  Morley's 
book : — 

(1)  That  coercion  is  the  only  alternative 
policy  to  Home  Rule. 

(2)  That  the  Legislative  Union  has  proved  a 
failure. 

(3)  That  the  Union  was  forced  upon  Ireland 
by  corrupt  and  disgraceful  means. 

(4)  That  self-government  is  a  right  inherent 
in  a  nation. 

(.5)  That  Ireland  demands  the  enjoyment  of 
that  right. 

Of  these  theses  the  two  first  have  been  already 
dealt  with.  What  is  called  coercion  is  not  a 
"  policy  "  at  all,  but  merely  the  discharge  in  an 
exceptional  way,  rendered  necessary  by  excep- 
tional circumstances,  of  the  primary  duty  of 
government.  And  both  the  duty  and  the  dis- 
charge of  it  would  be  unaffected  by  transferring 
the  seat  of  government  to  Dublin.  The  alterna- 
tive to  Home  Rule  is  the  policy  which  has 
already  won  over  to  the  side  of  the  Union  all 
that  was  formerly  most  hostile  to  the  Union,  and 
all  that  is  most  intelligent  and  prosperous  in 
Ireland  to-day. 


xvii]     "  SEA  FORBIDS  THE  UNION  "  187 

And  as  regards  the  third  point,  one  of  the 
stupidest  blunders  of  this  controversy  is  that  of 
judging  Grattan's  Parliament  and  Pitt's  methods 
in  the  light,  and  by  the  ethics,  of  the  present 
day.  The  Union  was  brought  about  by  the 
corrupt  means  usual  in  a  corrupt  age.  But 
statesmanship  will  take  sides  with  common  sense 
in  refusing  to  be  swayed  by  academic  questions 
of  this  kind,  when  dealing  with  the  practical 
problems  of  the  twentieth  century.  Without  a 
"  statute  of  limitations  "  civilised  society  would 
be  impossible,  and  sensible  men  may  be  pardoned 
for  turning  with  impatience  from  all  this  sen- 
timental nonsense  about  a  past  that  is  now 
remote.* 

But,  we  are  told,  every  nation  has  an  inalien- 
able right  to  self-government.  This  is  one  of 
those  abstract  propositions  that  delight  a  debating 
society.  Let  us  accept  it  for  the  sake  of  argu- 
ment, and  passing  on  to  our  last  thesis,  grapple 
with  the  question,  In  what  sense  is  Ireland  a 
nation  ? 

"  The     sea     forbids     the    Union,"    Grattan 

*  In  his  "  Irish  Parliament,"  my  friend,  Mr.  Swift  MacNeill, 
M.P.,  quotes  with  approval  Mr.  Leeky's  words,  that  "the  Irish 
Parliament  was  in  truth  a  body  governed  very  constantly  hy  corrupt 
motives,  though  probably  not  more  so  than  the  English  Parliament 
in  the  time  of  Walpole."  Grattan's  Parliament,  with  all  its  faults, 
was  more  representative  of  all  that  was  best  in  Irish  national  life 
than  any  Home  Rule  Parliament  would  be  to-day.  In  its  treatment 
of  the  Roman  Catholics,  it  was  far  more  enlightened  than  the 
English  Parliament. 


188     MR.  GLADSTONES  POLICY   [chap. 

exclaimed,  and  his  words  did  not  lack  meaning 
when  he  uttered  them.  For  a  century  ago 
Dublin  was  practically  further  from  London  than 
is  Xew  York  or  Alexandria  to-day.  At  the  end 
of  a  long  and  wearisome  stage-coach  journey,  the 
traveller  found  a  miserable  berth  upon  a  wretched 
little  sixty-ton  cutter,  which  carried  him  across  the 
channel  if  the  wind  happened  to  be  favourable. 
An  ordeal  the  crossing  must  have  been  at  its 
best,  and  old  books  describe  its  dangers  and 
its  horrors  when  the  skies  happened  to  be  cruel. 
But  nowadays  we  breakfast  in  London  and  dine 
in  Dublin,  the  channel  being  bridged  by  vessels 
that  defy  the  elements. 

"  Not  quite,"  some  one  may  murmur,  "  the 
vessels  are  admirable,  but  the  sea  is  still  the 
same."  Are  we  then  to  hold  that  a  cure  for  sea- 
sickness would  solve  the  Irish  problem  ?  If  so 
we  ought  surely  to  give  the  twentieth  century  a 
chance  before  deciding  that  the  problem  is  in- 
soluble. A  small  poundage,  moreover,  upon  the 
millions  sunk  in  Irish  land  would  give  us  a 
railway  under  the  twenty  miles  of  sea  between 
Port  Patrick  and  the  Antrim  coast.  And,  apart 
from  railway  trains  and  steamboats,  the  telegraph 
and  the  telephone  have  destroyed  distance  alto- 
gether. To  hold  that  the  Irish  are  a  "nation" 
because  they  live  upon  an  island  is,  in  these  days 
of  electricity  and  steam,  the  merest  bitise. 

What,   then,  is  the  meaning  of  this  phrase, 


xvii]  THERE  IS  NO  "IRISH  NATION''  189 

"  the  Irish  nation  "  ?  Does  it  mean  that  the 
Irish  are  a  distinct  and  homogeneous  race  ?  If 
so  we  may  aver  that  if  there  be  one  point  on 
which  we  shall  all  agree  in  a  controversy  where 
so  much  is  disputable,  it  is  in  the  answer  we 
shall  give  to  that  question.  For  one  of  the  most 
serious  difficulties  in  the  Irish  problem  depends 
upon  the  fact  that  the  population  of  Ireland  is 
not  homogeneous,  or,  in  other  words,  that  there 
is  no  Irish  nation.  And  racial  differences,  instead 
of  disappearing  as  they  tend  to  do  in  other  lands, 
are  maintained  and  accentuated  by  religious 
strife. 

This  is  not  understood  in  England,  where 
Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics  have  learned 
to  live  side  by  side  in  peace.  But  in  England 
Roman  Catholicism  has  been  tempered  and 
moulded,  not  only  by  modern  civilisation,  but 
by  the  genius  of  the  national  character  ;  whereas 
the  Popery  of  the  Irish  peasant  is  the  religion  of 
the  Dark  Ages.  And  the  typical  Maynooth  priest, 
who  is  the  son  of  a  peasant  home,  is  the  minister 
of  that  evil  cult.*  The  educated  classes  in  Ireland 
live  together  on  terms  of  social  intercourse  and 
private  friendship.  But  mediaeval  superstition, 
and  the  spirit  it  engenders,  are  utterly  revolting. 
Hence  the  want  of  sympathy  that  exists  between 
the  educated  Irish  "  Catholic "  and  his  co-reli- 
gionists, not  only  of  the  peasantry,  but  of  the 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  V.,  p.  215,  post. 


190     MR.  GLADSTONE'S  POLICY  [chap. 

lower  clergy.  Hence  the  seemingly  aggressive 
character  of  Irish  Protestantism. 

If,  then,  we  are  to  consider  the  Home  Rule 
question  apart  from  ethnical  problems  and  sea- 
sickness, it  resolves  itself  into  this,  that  Ireland 
is  entitled  to  legislative  independence  because 
the  majority  of  the  electorate  demand  it.  But 
if  this  principle  be  accepted  in  the  case  of 
Ireland,  it  must  apply  equally  to  Scotland  and 
Wales,  and,  indeed,  to  any  of  the  ancient 
divisions  of  the  Heptarchy. 

When  addressing  a  meeting  in  Aberdeen  in 
the  days  before  his  perversion,  Mr.  Gladstone 
urged  this  with  striking  force.  "  If,"  said  he, 
"  the  doctrines  of  Home  Rule  are  to  be  estab- 
lished in  Ireland,  I  protest,  on  your  behalf,  that 
you  will  be  just  as  well  entitled  to  it  in  Scotland. 
And  I  protest  on  behalf  of  Wales,  where  there 
are  eight  hundred  thousand  people  who — such  is 
their  sentiment  of  nationality — speak  hardly  any- 
thing but  their  own  Celtic  tongue  —  a  larger 
number  than  speak  it  in  Ireland — I  protest  on 
behalf  of  Wales  that  they  are  entitled  to  Home 
Hide  there." 

What  this  demand  means  is,  that  our  present 
system  of  popular  franchise,  revised  a  generation 
ago  on  arbitrary  and  somewhat  fanciful  lines, 
and  framed  for  purposes  altogether  within  the 
constitution,  may  be  used  to  destroy  the  con- 
stitution.    Pass  a    Redistribution   Bill,  and   the 


xvii]  HOME   RULE  191 

Home  Rule  majority  would  be  sensibly  reduced. 
Raise  the  franchise  to  the  level  at  which  it  stood 
before  the  last  Reform  Act,  and  that  majority 
would  disappear. 

So  long  as  we  have  an  hereditary  Second 
Chamber,  the  present  popular  franchise  may  be 
admirable  for  the  purposes  of  party  government 
within  the  constitution.  But  if  a  measure  be 
proposed  which  thus  violates  the  constitution, 
society  becomes  resolved  into  its  elements,  and 
the  intelligence  and  wealth  of  a  community  are 
entitled  to  a  collective  voice  without  reference  to 
the  ballot-boxes.  And  that  a  Home  Rule  Bill 
does  violate  the  constitution  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  fact  that,  if  we  had  a  Supreme  Court  on 
the  American  model,  such  a  Bill,  though  passed 
by  Parliament,  would  be  vetoed  by  the  Court. 

Suppose,  as  is  very  possible,  that  some  future 
Reform  Bill  gives  manhood  suffrage,  limited  to 
persons  actually  residing  in  the  constituency. 
With  such  a  franchise  the  M.P.'s  for  the  City 
of  London  would  no  more  represent  the  interests 
which  make  the  City  what  it  is — in  a  word  the 
real  City — than  the  Nationalist  M.P.'s  now 
represent  the  real  Ireland.  But  under  our 
constitution  the  real  City  could  still  rely  upon 
Parliament  as  a  whole.  And  it  is  certain  that 
the  merchant  princes  of  London  would  never  be 
told  that  the  "  carpet-baggers  "  so  elected  by  the 
office-keepers  and  caretakers,  and  the  tradesmen 


192     MR.  GLADSTONE'S  POLICY   [chap. 

of  the  back  streets,  were  alone  entitled  to  speak 
for  "  the  City."  Yet  that  is  precisely  the  treat- 
ment with  which  the  prosperous  and  educated 
classes  in  Ireland  are  threatened.  And  the 
injustice  becomes  all  the  more  flagrant,  because 
of  the  very  peculiar  circumstances  of  that 
country. 

His  appreciation  of  this  it  was,  no  doubt, 
which  led  Mr.  Morley  to  say  some  twenty 
years  ago :  "I,  for  one,  will  never  be  a 
party  to  placing  a  minority  and  the  property 
of  a  minority  at  the  mercy  of  a  majority."  * 
But  tempora  mutantur,  etc.  This  is  precisely 
what  Home  Rule  would  do.  Entirely  in  the 
same  spirit  was  Mr.  Bright's  decision  to  oppose 
the  Home  Rule  Bill  of  1886.  "  1  cannot 
consent,"  he  declared,  "to  a  measure  which  is 
so  offensive  to  the  whole  Protestant  population 
of  Ireland,  and  to  the  whole  sentiment  of  the 
province  of  Ulster,  so  far  as  its  loyal  and  Pro- 
testant people  are  concerned.  I  cannot  agree  to 
exclude  them  from  the  protection  of  the  Imperial 
Parliament."  f 

Having  regard,  then,  to  the  nature  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  Irish  minority,  which  is 
irreconcilably  opposed  to  Home  Rule,  to 
maintain  that   "Ireland  demands   Home  Rule" 

*  I  take  this  from  a  letter  which  appeared  in  the  Times  of  January 
13,  1891.  As  it  is  signed  "  A/'  J  may  add  that  I  was  not  the  writer 
of  it. 

t   Letter  to  Mr.  (ila.lstonc  of  May  13,  188U. 


xvn]     AN  AMERICAN  PARALLEL       193 

is  to  mistake  theories  for  facts.  And  we  may 
now  go  a  step  further  and  assert  that,  even 
were  it  otherwise,  the  issue  would  have  to  be 
decided,  not  on  academic  theories  at  all,  but  on 
thoroughly  practical  lines.  For  with  nations  as 
with  men,  when  life  and  safety  are  in  peril, 
theories  count  for  nothing.  Were  a  united 
Ireland  to  speak  with  united  voice  upon  this 
subject,  the  problem  would  be  precisely  analogous 
to  that  which  brought  about  the  American  Civil 
War.  If  Ireland  from  sea  to  sea  were  hostile  to 
England,  England  would  not  dare  to  accede  to 
"  the  national  demand."  It  is  only  because  a 
powerful  minority  is  friendly  to  England  that 
any  Home  Rule  scheme  can  be  entertained. 
And  to  make  the  friendship  of  the  minority  a 
reason  for  betraying  them  would  be  an  act  of 
unutterable  infamy. 


2  c 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

CONCLUSION  :    AN    ALTERNATIVE   POLICY 

The  preceding  chapter,  it  may  perhaps  be  said, 
is  based  on  misrepresentation  and  error.  Home 
Rule,  we  shall  be  told,  has  nothing  in  common 
with  a  demand  for  separation,  such  as  that  by 
which  the  Southern  States  provoked  the  American 
Civil  War  ;  it  merely  claims  for  Ireland  the  right 
of  local  self-government.  It  proposes  to  delegate 
to  a  thoroughly  subordinate  Parliament  the 
power  to  deal  with  affairs  which  are  purely  Irish, 
the  Imperial  Parliament  maintaining  its  control, 
and  supplying  a  court  of  appeal  in  case  of  any 
action  which  is  either  ultra  vires  or  unjust 

"  Was  there  ever  a  device  more  certain  to 
prolong  all  the  troubles  of  [the  Imperial]  Parlia- 
ment .  .  .  than  the  proposal  to  dole  out  to 
1 1 (land  .  .  .  that  which  she  does  not  want,  and 
which  if  she  accepts  at  all,  she  will  only  accept 
for  the  purpose  of  making  further  demands  ?  " 
In  these  prophetic  words,  spoken  twenty  yens 
ago,  Mr.  Gladstone  scouted  the  proposal  which 
is    commended    to  us  to-day  by  the   men   who 


chap,  xviii]  DEVOLUTION  195 

pretend  to  be  administrators  of  his  policy.  It 
would  settle  nothing.  And  what  it  would  un- 
settle no  one  can  forecast." 

This  sort  of  Home  Rule  is  not  wanted  by  the 
"  Unionists,"  and  it  will  not  satisfy  the  "  Nation- 
alists." The  Irish  are  seldom  agreed  on  any 
great  public  question,  and  the  unanimity  with 
which  both  parties  have  repudiated  "  Devolution  " 
ought  to  be  an  "  end  of  controversy  "  here.  The 
Irish  National  League  supplies  an  authoritative 
statement  of  the  "  Nationalist "  demand  ;  and  in 
the  "  platform "  of  the  League,  national  self- 
government  holds  the  first  place.  Local  self- 
government  is  included,  but  it  is  wholly 
subordinate,  f 

But,  it  will  be  answered,  "  Ireland  "  means  the 
voice  of  the  majority  of  the  electorate,  expressed 
in  the  proper  constitutional  manner  by  their 
Parliamentary  representatives.  This,  of  course, 
reopens  the  questions  dealt  with  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  And  moreover,  down  to  the  present  hour, 

*  "  Gas  and  water  Home  Rule,"  as  it  has  been  contemptuously 
termed,  of  course  may  come.  But  this  I  need  not  discuss.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that,  if  and  when  it  comes,  prosperous  and  cultured  Ireland 
— the  real  Ireland— will  claim  to  be  treated  apart  from  Mr.  Morley's 
Ireland — the  Ireland  of  the  League.  If  my  parable  about  the  City 
of  Loudon  (p.  191,  ante)  should  ever  be  realised,  the  great  commercial 
interests  of  the  City  will  not  be  relegated  to  the  sort  of  men  who  will 
then  represent  the  City  in  the  House  of  Commons.  And  to  place 
the  material  interests  of  Ireland  in  the  power  of  the  representatives 
of  the  ignorant  masses  of  the  people  would  bring  about  a  commercial 
ruin  as  complete  as  that  which  resulted  from  the  infamous  laws  of 
other  days  (p.  170,  ante). 

t  See  p.  116,  ante. 


196   AN   ALTERNATIVE  POLICY  [chap. 

the  "  Nationalist "  members  have  declared  their 
aim  and  goal  to  be  "  the  restoration  of  national 
self-government"  for  Ireland.  Yes,  it  may  be 
said,  but  this  must  be  construed  in  the  light  of 
their  acceptance  of  Mr.  Gladstones  Home  Kule 
Bills  of  1886  and  1893.  One  might  suppose  that 
Mr.  Morley's  graphic  account  of  ParnelTs  repu- 
diation in  1890,  of  his  explicit  pledges  of  1886, 
would  suffice  to  show  the  folly  of  basing  a  great 
revolutionary  change  on  such  a  foundation  as  this. 
Such  pledges  ought  in  honour  to  bind  the  men 
who  give  them.  But  they  cannot  bind  those 
who  come  after  them." 

With  perfect  honesty,  and  with  his  usual 
clearness,  Mr.  Parnell  himself  thus  gave  expres- 
sion to  this  in  1885 — 

"  They  could  not  ask  for  less  than  the  resti- 
tution of  Grattan's  Parliament.  They  could 
scarcely,  under  the  constitution,  ask  for  more. 
But  no  man  had  the  right  to  fix  the  boundary  to 
the  march  of  a  nation ;  and  while  they  struggled 
to-day  for  that  which  it  might  seem  possible  for 
them  to  obtain,  they  might  struggle  for  it  with 
the  proud  consciousness  that  they  were  doing 
nothing  to  hinder  or  prevent   better  men  who 

*  At  a  meeting  of  the  Nationalist  Parliamentary  party  in  Dublin 
(  ity  Hall  mi  February  10,  L906,  the  following  resolution  was  pro- 
posed by  .Mr.  John  Redmond,  M.P.,  chairman  of  the  party,  seconded 
by  Mr  John  Dillon,  and  carried  unanimously  :  "That this  party,  as 
its  first  act,  reiterates  thedemand  of  the  Irish  nation  for  the  restora- 
tion of  National  self-government"  (Times,  February  12). 


xviii]     A    'DIVIDED  IRELAND''         197 

may  come  forward  in  the  future  from  gaining 
better  things  than  those  for  which  they  were  now 
struggling."  * 

These  words  still  stand.  In  an  earlier  chapter 
I  have  shown  the  kind  and  measure  of  "  coercion" 
that  was  needed  to  suppress  the  demand  for 
"  better  things,"  even  in  the  halcyon  days  of 
"  Grattan's  Parliament."  And  if  "  Grattan's 
Parliament "  were  restored,  not  many  years 
would  pass  before  that  same  demand  would  be 
revived  by  a  new  "  National  League,"  and 
enforcd  by  a  new  "  Fenian  conspiracy." 

In  connection  with  this  question  there  is  a 
passage  in  Mr.  Morley's  narrative  which  is 
worthy  of  being  separated  off,  and  placed  in  the 
strongest  light.  On  his  way  back  from  Ireland 
in  December,  1890,  he  broke  his  journey  at 
Hawarden ;  and  an  extract  from  his  diary 
describes  what  passed  between  him  and  Mr. 
Gladstone  on  this  occasion.  Here  are  his 
words : — 

"  The  bare  idea  that  Parnell  might  rind  no 
inconsiderable  following  came  upon  him  as  if  it 
had  been  a  thunderclap.  He  listened,  and 
catechised,  and  knit  his  brow." 

Mr.  Gladstone  asked,  "What  do  you  think 
we  should  do  in  case  (1)  of  a  divided  Ireland, 
(2)  of  a  Parnellite  Ireland  ? " 

*  Speech  at  Cork,  January  21,  1885. 


198    AN  ALTERNATIVE  POLICY   [chap. 

To  which  Mr.  Morley  replied,  "  It  is  too  soon 
to  settle  what  to  think.  But,  looking  to  Irish 
interests,  I  think  a  Parnellite  Ireland  infinitely 
better  than  a  divided  Ireland.  Anything  better 
than  an  Ireland  divided,  so  far  as  she  is  con- 
cerned." 

Let  us  note  what  this  means.  When,  as 
Mr.  Morley  records  on  this  same  page,  the 
Parnellite  M.P.'s  quarrelled  in  "  Committee 
Room  15,"  and  broke  into  two  sections,  Ireland 
was  "  divided  ; "  and,  to  quote  his  words  again, 
he  and  Mr.  Gladstone  recognised  "  the  horrors  of 
dissension  in  Ireland."  But  so  long  as  the 
Parnellites  stood  together,  there  was  no  dis- 
sension in  Ireland,  no  disunion.  It  mattered 
nothing  that  on  the  other  side  was  arrayed  every 
class  and  every  interest  that  made  Ireland  solvent 
and  great — educated  Ireland,  professional  Ireland, 
mercantile  Ireland,  Protestant  Ireland.  All  this 
counted  for  nothing  so  long  as  the  Parnellite 
majority  were  at  one. 

Were  this  matter  not  so  serious,  were  these 
utterances  not  so  pestilently  mischievous,  the 
scene  might  well  excite  an  Irish  sense  of  humour. 
We  picture  to  ourselves  the  greatest  statesman 
of  his  time,  and  an  eminent  political  philosopher, 
sitting  together,  like  a  pair  of  small  schoolboys 
astride  their  favourite  hobby,  and  imagining  it  to 
be  a  real  horse.  But  all  the  humour  of  it  is  lost 
in  a  feeling  of  burning  indignation  that  the  best 


xvni]       MR.  BRIGHT'S  LETTER  199 

interests  of  Ireland  should  thus  be  contemptuously 
ignored,  sacrificed  to  political  theories  and  fads.* 

In  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Morley,  before  he 
became  a  Minister  of  State,  I  met  his  argument 
that  Ireland  must  be  granted  self-government,  by 
asking  the  question,  "  And  what  kind  of  govern- 
ment will  it  be  ? "  To  which  he  promptly  re- 
plied, "  The  worst  government  in  the  world  ;  but 
that  does  not  affect  the  principle."  I  recalled  to 
mind  the  case  of  a  friend  of  my  family  long  ago, 
who  gave  cold  baths  to  his  children  "  on  prin- 
ciple." One  of  the  children  survived,  and  if  the 
others  would  have  been  at  all  like  him,  this 
generation  is  the  poorer  for  their  fate.  To  act 
on  principle  outside  the  sphere  of  morals  is  the 
part  of — well,  it  is  the  part  of  people  who  are 
not  philosophers. 

The  common  sense  and  love  of  justice  which 
mark  the  English  character  are  displayed  in  Mr. 
Bright 's  memorable  letter  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  of 
May  13,  1886,  quoted  at  length  in  Mr.  Morley 's 
book.     It  ends  with  these  pregnant  words  : — 

"  For  thirty  years  I  have  preached  justice  to 
Ireland.  I  am  as  much  in  her  favour  now  as  in 
past  times,  but  I  do  not  think  it  justice  or 
wisdom  for  Great  Britain  to  consign  her  popu- 
lation, including  Ulster  and  all  her  Protestant 
families,  to  what  there  is  of  justice  and  wisdom 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  VI.,  p.  218,  post. 


200   AN   ALTERNATIVE    POLICY  [chap. 

in  the  Irish  party  now  sitting  in  the  Parliament 
in  Westminster." 

Yet  another  passage  in  Mr.  Morley  *s  book 
claims  special  prominence  here.  Unless  Ireland 
is  to  have  absolute  independence,  a  condition 
precedent  to  the  consideration  of  any  Home 
Rule  measure  is,  as  Mr.  Gladstone  declared  in 
1882,*  that  its  advocates  shall  devise  "  a  plan  by 
which  it  is  distinctly  set  forth  by  what  authority 
and  machinery  they  mean  to  divide  between 
Imperial  and  local  questions."  No  such  scheme 
lias  ever  been  formulated.  Underlying  it  is  "  the 
crucial  difficulty,"  as  Mr.  Morley  calls  it,  of  "  the 
Irish  representation  at  Westminster."  It  was 
that  difficulty  which  wrecked  the  Home  Rule 
Bill  of  1886.  In  the  light  of  the  experience 
gained  by  that  failure,  the  problem  was  under 
anxious  consideration  during  the  seven  years 
which  preceded  the  second  attempt  of  1803.  And 
yet,  as  Mr.  Morley  tells  us,  a  Committee,  con- 
sisting of  the  elite  of  the  Cabinet,  to  whom  the 
Kill  of  1803  was  referred,  attempted  in  vain  to 
deal  with  it.  Three  courses  presented  them- 
selves. Rut,  while  Mr.  Gladstone's  proverbial 
three  courses  usually  led  into  the  open,  these 
three  courses  all  ended  in  a  hopeless  maze.  And 
the  makeshift  scheme,  which  was  the  best  they 
could   devise,  had  to  be  abandoned  as  soon   as 

*  See  p.  117,  ante. 


xvni]     A  HOME  RULE  PARADOX     201 

ever  it  came  to  be  discussed  in  the  House  of 
Commons. 

Here  are  Mr.  Morley's  words — 

"  Each  of  the  three  courses  was  open  to 
at  least  one  single,  but  very  direct,  objection. 
Exclusion,  along  with  the  exaction  of  revenue 
from  Ireland  by  the  Parliament  at  Westminster, 
was  taxation  without  representation.  Inclusion 
for  all  purposes  was  to  allow  the  Irish  to  meddle 
in  our  affairs  while  we  were  no  longer  to  meddle 
in  theirs.  Inclusion  for  limited  purposes  still 
left  them  invested  with  the  power  of  turning 
out  a  British  Government  by  a  vote  against  it 
on  an  imperial  question.  Each  plan,  therefore, 
ended  in  a  paradox."* 

These  words  refer,  it  is  true,  to  the  events  of 
1893 ;  but  they  have  been  penned  to-day,  and 
penned  by  the  greatest  living  champion  of  the 
movement.  And  the  inexorable  conclusion  to 
which  they  lead  is,  that  the  wit  of  man  can- 
not devise  a  Home  Rule  scheme  under  which 
Ireland  will  not  be  either  entirely  subordinate 
to  England,  or  entirely  independent.  Subordi- 
nation Ireland  would  refuse  with  united  voice ; 
independence  England  will  never  grant.  Never, 
at  least,  save  during  some  period  of  temporary 
lunacy.  For  nations,  like  men,  seem  to  be 
liable   to  fits   of  madness.     If  reason   ruled   in 

*  Vol.  iii.,  p.  498. 

2   D 


202    AN  ALTERNATIVE  POLICY   [chap. 

the  political   sphere,  Mr.   Morley's   book  would 
be  a  death-blow  to  the  Home  Rule  craze. 

Or  if  any  one  still  clings  to  the  belief  that 
Home  Rule  may  be  granted  without  destroying 
the  integrity  and  endangering  the  safety  of  the 
Kingdom,  that  delusion  should  be  dispelled  by 
the  latest  authoritative  statement  of  the  demand. 
In  his  place  in  Parliament,  not  a  year  ago,  Mr 
J.  E.  Redmond,  M.P.,  speaking  as  the  accredited 
leader  of  the  "  Nationalists,"  used  these  words— 

"  They  regarded  the  government  of  their 
country  by  this  Parliament  as  a  usurpation  ; 
they  denied  the  validity  and  disputed  the  moral 
binding  force  of  the  Act  of  Union.  They 
demanded  self-government,  not  as  a  favour,  but 
as  a  right ;  they  based  their  demand,  not  upon 
grievances,  but  upon  the  inherent  and  inalienable 
right  of  the  Irish  nation  to  govern  itself.  They 
declared  plainly  that  they  would  rather  be 
governed  badly  by  their  own  Parliament,  than 
well  by  that  assembly." 

And  he  added — 

"  If  he  believed  that  there  was  the  smallest 
reasonable  chance  of  success,  he  would  have  no 
hesitation  in  advising  his  fellow  countrymen  to 
endeavour  to  end  the  present  system  by  armed 
revolt."  * 

*  The  Times,  April  13,  1905.  The  character  of  the  speaker 
tendfi  freight  to  these  words.  Not  only  is  he  tlie  leader  of  the 
"Nationalist"  party,  hut  personally  lie  differs  from  most  of  his 
colleagues  in  two  respects,  namely  :    First,  he  is  a  gentleman,  and 


xviti]  MR.  GLADSTONE  203 

Home  Rule  was  formerly  claimed  as  a  remedy 
for  Irish  grievances  unredressed.  But  now,  since 
no  grievances  remain,  national  independence  is 
demanded  as  a  right ;  and  the  demand  is  backed 
by  unveiled  threats  of  an  appeal  to  arms. 

In  this  same  speech  Mr.  Redmond  declared 
that  they  would  prefer  absolute  separation  to  the 
present  system  of  government  by  the  Imperial 
Parliament.  The  loyalists  of  Ireland  would 
possibly  prefer  absolute  separation  to  the  sort 
of  government  for  which  he  clamours.  Rather 
than  be  "governed  badly  by  their  own  Parlia- 
ment," not  a  few  of  them  might  well  claim  to 
retain  their  British  citizenship.  For  then  they 
would  have  the  right  to  appeal,  through  British 
consuls,  to  the  power  of  Britain  to  protect  them. 

What  answer  shall  be  given  to  this  most 
insolent  demand  ?  "  Can  any  sensible  man — can 
any  rational  man — suppose  that  at  this  time  of 
day,  in  this  condition  of  the  world,  we  are  going 
to  disintegrate  the  great  capital  institutions  of 
this  country,  to  make  ourselves  ridiculous  in  the 
sight  of  all  mankind  ( "  These  words  are  Mr. 
Gladstone's.  And  their  force  is  immensely  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that  the  Home  Rule  he  had 
in  view  when  he  uttered  them  was  not  a  blatant 

never  indulges  in  coarse  or  offensive  language ;  and,  secondly,  he  is 
a  sensible  man  who  avoids  the  style  of  oratory  which  the  Americans 
call  "  flapdoodle."  If  all  Parnellites  were  men  of  the  type  of  Mr. 
J.  E.  Redmond,  Home  Rule  might  not  spell  disaster  But  such 
men  are  few,  and  they  would  soon  be  pushed  aside. 


204  AN   ALTERNATIVE   POLICY  [chap. 

demand  for  independence,  but  merely  the  mild 
and  modest  scheme  which  was  championed  by 
Isaac  Butt. 

The  special  danger  at  this  moment  is  not 
Home  Rule  legislation,  but  Home  Rule  admin- 
istration ;  governing  Ireland  as  it  would  be 
governed  under  an  Irish  Parliament ;  governing, 
that  is,  in  the  interests,  and  according  to  the 
wishes  and  sentiments,  of  the  political  agitators 
and  Maynooth  priests,  and  the  ignorant  masses 
whom  they  control  and  dupe.  "  Governing 
Ireland  according  to  Irish  ideas  "  it  is  called  in 
the  jargon  of  the  controversy.  This  evil  system 
was  never  described  more  aptly  than  by  Sir 
William  Harcourt.  "  If,"  said  he,  "  they  were 
to  govern  Ireland  according  to  Irish  ideas,  he 
feared  they  would  find  themselves  reduced  to 
the  consequence  of  not  governing  Ireland  at 
all." 

And  yet  there  is  one  element  omitted  here. 
It  is  supplied  by  the  letter  of  an  Irish  peasant 
who,  on  emigrating  to  America,  found  himself 
in  the  middle  of  an  Irish  colony  in  New  York. 
"  This  is  a  real  free  country,"  he  wrote^  "  every- 
body does  what  he  likes,  and  if  he  doesn't,  then 
begorra  !  we  make  him  do  it."  This  combination 
of  licence  and  tyranny  was  characteristic  of  the 
Land  League  rule,  and  a  Home  Rule  Parliament 
would  perpetuate  it. 

Sir  William  Harcourt  went  on  to  say — and 


xvm]    SIR  W.  HARCOURTS  VIEWS    205 

his  words  are  specially  important  at  the  present 
moment — 

"  He  had  always  regarded  Ireland  as  a 
part  of  Her  Majesty's  dominions — as  an  integral 
fraction  of  a  united  Empire — and  if  that  be 
so,  Ireland,  like  all  other  parts  of  the  dominions 
of  the  Queen,  must  be  governed,  not  according 
to  Irish,  but  according  to  Imperial  ideas. 
Imperial  ideas  were  exactly  opposite,  so  far  as 
he  could  judge,  to  Irish  ideas,  for  Imperial 
ideas  prescribed  the  duty  to  administer  equal 
justice  to  every  class  of  Her  Majesty's  subjects." 

If  for  a  single  generation  Ireland  were 
governed  thus,  according  to  Imperial  ideas, 
"  the  Irish  Question  "  would  disappear.  But 
the  new  panacea  of  the  doctrinaire  politician  is 
government  in  the  interest  of  those  who  happen 
to  be  in  a  majority  at  a  Parliamentary  election. 
"  There  is  but  one  secret  in  governing  Ireland, 
as  in  governing  any  country,  and  it  is  to  govern 
for  the  good  of  the  whole  people."  *  This  is  the 
Imperial  conception  of  government.  And  this 
is  the  policy  of  the  Union.  But  in  the  past 
that  policy  has  never  had  a  fair  trial.  The 
ascendency  of  privileged  classes  has  been  tried. 
The  far  more  evil  ascendency  of  the  agitator 
and  the  mob  has  had  its  day.  At  times  disloyal 
and  noisy  men  have  been  petted  and  promoted, 

*  These  words   are  Isaac    Butt's  ;   they   were  adopted  by  Mr. 
Redmond  in  hisjspeech  quoted  on  p.  202,  ante. 


206    AN  ALTERNATIVE  POLICY    [chap. 

and  the  quiet  and  law  -  abiding  have  been 
neglected  and  discouraged.  Brief  intervals, 
there  have  been,  of  government  of  the  kind 
which  is  habitual  on  this  side  of  the  Irish 
Channel,  where  good  citizens  are  always  helped, 
and  sedition-mongers  are  suppressed.  But  a 
change  of  ministers  has  soon  led  to  a  change  of 
policy,  and  there  has  been  no  continuity  of 
administration. 

My  special  acquaintance  with  both  Dublin 
Castle  and  the  Home  Office  has  given  me 
exceptional  opportunities  of  appreciating  the 
difference  between  government  on  that  side  of 
the  channel  and  on  this.* 

In  England  administration  is  marked  by  that 
healthy  kind  of  favouritism  which  encourages 
the  well-behaved  child,  and  the  obedient  and 
efficient  soldier ;  whereas  in  Ireland  the  evil 
favouritism  which  prevails  is  like  that  of  pamper- 
ing the  tartars  of  the  nursery,  and  the  turbulent 
and  ill-conditioned  men  of  a  regiment.  As  Mr. 
Froude  once  wrote  to  me,  Ireland  is  governed 
on  the  principle  of  handing  over  the  control  of 
the  ship  to  the  mutinous  portion  of  the  crew. 


*  I  was  greatly  struck  by  this  when  I  first  came  to  Whitehall. 
And  I  was  amazed  to  find  that  continuity  of  administration  WBB 
unaffected  by  a  change  of' Government.  When  -Mr.  liruce  came  to 
the  Home  Office  in  December,  18G9,  he  announced  to  the  heads  of 
departments  that  all  was  to  go  on  as  before,  as  he  assumed  that 
everything  which  Mr.  Hardy,  his  Tory  predecessor,  had  done  was 
right. 


xviii]    UNIONIST  CONVENTIONS         207 

And  yet,  in  spite  of  all  this,  the  Union  has 
won  its  way.  Its  success,  indeed,  within  living 
memory,  has  been  extraordinary.  When  I  left 
Ireland,  not  yet  forty  years  ago,  I  could  not 
have  dreamed  that  I  should  live  to  see  such 
amazing  demonstrations  of  loyalty  and  friendship 
to  England,  as  the  great  Unionist  Conventions 
of  1892.*  While  the  men  of  Mr.  Morley's 
Ireland — politicians  and  priests  and  peasants 
and  paupers — were  clamouring  for  separation, 
thousands  of  the  elected  representatives  of  every 
element  that  is  stable  and  strong  in  Irish  life 
came  together  to  protest  against  the  creation 
of  a  Parliament  for  Ireland,  and  to  declare  un- 
alterable determination  to  uphold  the  Union. 
Never  before  in  the  history  of  Ireland  had  there 
been  anything  like  it.  Men  of  all  classes  and 
creeds,  and  every  interest  which  entitles  Ireland 
to  the  proud  position  she  now  holds  in  the 
government  of  the  Empire,  stood  together  in 
perfect  unity,  and  spoke  with  one  voice. 

Even  sheep  are  weighed  as  well  as  counted ; 
and  the  men  who,  when  judged  by  any  test 
except  a  poll,  are  best  entitled  to  speak  for 
Ireland,  are  all  enthusiastically  loyal.  Is  it  right 
and  wise  to  insult  or  to  ignore  them  ?  Is  there 
no  risk  of  forcing  them  into  the  rebel  camp  ? 
The  part  of  statesmanship  is  patiently  but  firmly 
to  carry  out  the  policy  which  has  produced  these 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  VI.,  p.  218,  post. 


208     ALTERNATIVE   POLICY    [ch.  xviii 

wonderful  results,  the  policy  which  formerly 
claimed  Mr.  Gladstone  as  its  ablest  and  most 
uncompromising  champion,  the  policy  which, 
till  Mr.  Gladstone  abandoned  it,  had  the  support 
of  public  men  of  every  name  and  party  in  Great 
Britain. 


APPENDIX 

Note  I.  (Page  HO,  ante). 

It  would  not  be  easy  to  exaggerate  the  intensity  of 
feeling:  with  which  Mr.  Gladstone's  administration  of 
Ireland  was  regarded  by  the  loyalists.  Two  illustrative 
incidents  occur  to  me.  The  first  relates  to  a  valued 
friend  of  mine,  now  dead — a  man  who  held  a  nigh 
official  position  in  Ireland,  and  who  was  an  enthusiastic 
admirer  of  Mr.  Gladstone.  Our  long  friendship  was  never 
ruffled  by  a  single  jarring  word,  save  on  one  occasion.  At 
his  dinner-table  one  evening  I  made  a  flippant  remark 
which  he  considered  uncomplimentary  to  Mr.  Gladstone, 
and  he  "  snubbed "  me  angrily  before  his  other  guests. 
"  The  old  rascal's  base  policy  "  was  his  reference  to  Mr. 
Gladstone  in  a  letter  I  had  from  him  at  a  later  date. 

The  other  friend  of  whom  I  shall  speak  is  an  English- 
man, a  man  not  unknown  in  London  society,  whose 
brother  was  an  English  M.P.  of  influence  and  repute. 
He  had  been  led  to  make  his  home  in  Ireland.  It  some- 
times happens  that  an  English  resident  gets  into  closer 
touch  with  the  peasantry  even  than  the  native  gentry  ; 
and  my  friend  was  full  of  sympathy  for  them.  As  we 
sat  alone  after  dinner  one  evening,  he  spoke  feelingly 
of  their  sorrows  and  sufferings  under  the  League  rule. 
Men  like  himself  could  obtain  police  protection,  he  said, 
but  the  poor  cottagers  were  left  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  the  moonlighters  and  village  ruffians. 

One  of  the  most  amiable  and  equable  of  men — a  man 
who  never  used  an  expletive  or  even  raised  his  voice — he 

2  E 


210  APPENDIX 

electrified  me  by  saying  in  his  calm  way.  without  a  trace 
of  passion,  that  the  minister  who  was  responsible  for  this 
state  of  things  deserved  to  be  treated  as  an  outlaw,  and 
that,  if  he  could  do  it  with  safety,  he  would  contribute 
15  to  have  Mr.  Gladstone  shot. 

Such  was  the  view  taken  by  a  cool-blooded  English- 
man of  the  conduct  of  a  minister  who,  under  the  influence 
of  claptrap  and  theories  about  "  coercion  "  and  "  ordinary 
law,"  left  the  unfortunate  victims  of  League  rule  to  their 
fate. 

Note  II.  (Page  115,  ante). 

The  following  are  extracts  from  "  The  Irish  National 
Invincibles,'1  by  Patrick  J.  P.  Tynan,  the  notorious 
"  No.  1  "  of  that  section  of  the  conspiracy  : — 

"  It  must  be  distinctly  understood  that  the  creation 
of  this  new  and  important  Irish  organization,  or  rather  the 
transferring  of  the  braver  and  more  determined  members 
of  the  Land  League  into  the  National  Inviucibles,  was 
not  the  work  of  subordinates  in  the  Parnellite  ranks.  It 
was  the  action  of  those  who  governed  the  movement,  men 
the  very  highest  intellectually  and  authoritatively,  and  to 
whom  were  delegated  the  legitimate  control  and  responsi- 
bility of  meeting  every  exigency  forced  on  them  by  the 
exasperated  enemy.  In  a  word,  the  Invincibles  sprang  into 
existence  by  order  of  the  Parnellite  Government  of  Ireland 
elected  by  the  Irish  nation.  ...  It  was  decided  by  the 
Parnellite  Government — which  was  also,  with  two  excep- 
tions, the  Executive  of  the  Invincibles— that  there  was  no 
alternative  but  to  meet  the  assassin  rule  of  Britain  by 
force.  ...  It  was  resolved  by  the  earliest  council  held 
by  the  Executive  of  the  Invincibles,  that  these  ferocious 
offices  (i.e.  the  Chief  and  Under  Secretary's)  should  be  kept 
vacant  by  the  continued  'suppression1  of  their  holders. 
.  .  .  The  Irishmen  who  promulgated  these  orders  had  the 


INVINCIBLES  AND  PARNELLITES   211 

legal  right  to  issue  them.  This  authority  was  conferred 
upon  them  by  the  Irish  nation  .  .  .  But  for  the  Parnel- 
lites  there  would  have  been  no  Invincibles ;  all  the  glory 
of  that  short-lived  struggle  rests  on  the  brave  men  who 
took  the  field,  all  the  disgrace  and  the  degradation  on 
the  statesmen  who  deserted  and  slandered  them. 

"The  Invincible  organization  was  militant  Ireland, 
the  nation  prepared  to  smite  the  foe.  It  held  a  higher 
mandate  for  its  existence  than  any  recent  Irish  movement 
at  its  birth.  It  was  created  by  lawful  and  organized 
authority  ;  its  principles  and  its  laws  were  those  given  to 
it  by  its  Parnellite  creators,  who  were  the  legal  govern- 
ment of  the  Irish  nation.  .  .  .  There  were,  no  doubt, 
many  men  in  the  Parnellite  ranks  in  1881  who  would 
have  opposed,  if  consulted,  the  formation  of  any  such 
organization ;  but  they  were  not  among  the  active  and 
patriotic  section.  .  .  .  They  may  be  sincere  in  their 
denunciation  of  the  Invincibles  in  Dublin,  as  they  are 
sincere  slaves  and  British  flunkeys.  But  this  does  not 
remove  from  their  shoulders  one  iota  of  the  responsibility 
attending  the  creation  of  this  active  movement;  if  they 
had  authority  at  headquarters,  they  should  have  been 
there  to  give  the  Provincialist  organization  their  services. 
But  in  the  face  of  facts  around  them,  of  circumstances 
that  could  not  have  been  hidden  from  the  most  stupid — 
if  they  had  not  absolute  information, -they  must  have  had 
more  than  a  shrewd  suspicion  that  the  Irish  Invincibles 
and  their  own  movement  was  the  Land  League  in  a  more 
active  form.  If  this  is  not  so,  these  men  must  have  less 
than  the  ordinary  perception  of  natural  intelligence. 

"  This  history  cannot  be  too  emphatic  in  stating  that 
the  Parnellism  of  that  epoch  and  the  Invincibles  were  one 
and  the  same  in  actual  fact;  the  policy  of  this  active 
movement,  its  authority,  its  armament  (such  as  it  was) 
sprang  from  the  organized  ranks  of  'legal  agitation. ,',, 


212  APPENDIX 

Note  III.  (Page  144,  ante). 

The  following  is  the  text  of  the  "facsimile"  letter, 
which  appeared  in  the  Times  of  April  18,  1887  : — 

"  15/5/82 
"  Dkar  Sir, 

"  I  am  not  surprised  at  your  friend's  anger, 
but  he  and  you  should  know  that  to  denounce  the  murders 
was  the  only  course  open  to  us.  To  do  that  promptly 
was  plainly  our  best  policy. 

"  But  you  can  tell  him  and  all  others  concerned  that 
though  I  regret  the  accident  of  Lord  F.  Cavendish's  death, 
I  cannot  refuse  to  admit  that  Burke  got  no  more  than  his 
deserts. 

"  You  are  at  liberty  to  show  him  this,  and  others 
whom  you  can  trust  also,  but  let  not  my  address  be  known. 
He  can  write  to  House  of  Commons. 

"  Yours  very  truly, 

"Chas.  S.  Pabnkll." 

And  the  following  is  Richard  Pigotfs  principal 
forgery  : — 

"  9/1/82 
"  Dear  E., 

"  What  are  these  fellows  waiting  for  P  This 
inaction  is  inexcusable.  Our  best  men  are  in  prison,  and 
nothing  is  being  done. 

"  Let  there  lie  an  end  of  this  hesitency.  Prompt 
action  is  called  for. 

"You  undertook  to  make  it  hot  for  old  Forster  and 
Co.     Let  us  have  some  evidence  of  your  power  to  do  so. 
"  My  health  is  good,  thanks. 

"  Your's  very  truly, 

"  Chas.  S.  PabnELL." 


THE     FACSIMILE'   LETTER      213 

Sir  Charles  Russell  began  his  cross-examination  of 
Pigott  (on  February  21,  1889)  by  making  him  write 
certain  words,  and  among  them  "  hesitancy,"  which  the 
witness  misspelt  as  in  the  letter.  The  whole  of  the 
following  day  (Friday)  he  was  under  cross-examination  ; 
but  when  the  Court  reassembled  on  Tuesday,  the  16th, 
he  failed  to  appear.  It  transpired  that  he  had  absconded, 
and  a  warrant  for  his  arrest  was  placed  in  my  hands.  The 
officers  whom  I  deputed  to  execute  it  tracked  him  to 
Madrid,  but  on  their  arriving  at  the  hotel  in  which  he  was 
staying,  he  shot  himself. 

A  full  and  careful  examination  of  the  originals  of  these 
letters  would  satisfy  an  expert  that  the  forgery  dated 
9/1/82  was  framed  upon  the  "  facsimile.11  The  first  half 
of  it  is  an  excellent  attempt  to  copy  the  writing  of  the 
"  facsimile  ; 11  the  latter  part  not  so  good.  The  signature 
is  a  slavish  imitation,  but  with  one  significant  blunder — 
just  the  sort  of  blunder  Pigott  would  make — namely,  the 
"  Your's.11 

The  "facsimile11  letter  is  written  on  the  first  page  of 
the  notepaper,  and  the  writing  of  the  last  three  lines  is 
very  cramped,  in  order  to  get  them  into  the  page.  But 
the  "  Yours  very  truly  "  and  the  signature  are  at  the  top 
of  the  opposite  page.  If  this  arrangement  was  not  in- 
tentional, for  reasons  which  it  is  not  difficult  to  conjecture, 
the  inference  is  clear  that  the  signature  was  written  before 
the  letter  itself.  A  busy  man  sometimes  gives  a  secretary 
or  clerk  a  draft  of  a  letter,  and  his  signatui'e  on  a  blank 
sheet  of  paper,  to  be  used  in  writing  it.  I  have  often 
done  so  myself.  This  may  be  the  explanation  of  the 
"  facsimile.11  Or  a  signature  given  by  Parnell  for  some 
other  purpose  may  have  been  thus  used  dishonestly.  But 
which  of  these  hypotheses  is  the  true  one  can  never  now 
be  known.  Of  the  genuineness  of  the  signature  I  feel 
no  doubt. 

Pigott,  I  repeat,  had  no  part  in  writing    the  letter, 


214  APPENDIX 

and  he  believed  it  to  be  genuine.  The  hand  that  wrote 
it  was  that  of  Arthur  CTKeefe,  assistant  sub-editor  of 
Mr.  William  O'Brien's  paper,  United  Ireland,  who  was 
arrested  under  Forster's  Act,  on  December  15,  1881,  and 
imprisoned  with  Parnell  in  Kilmainham. 

A  good  deal  of  sentimental  nonsense  has  been  talked 
and  written  about  this  letter.  Parnell's  repudiation  of  it 
deserves  weight :  but  it  must  not  hv  forgotten  that  some 
of  his  denials  at  the  Special  Commission  were  untruthful. 
If  the  letter  was  not  genuine,  the  writer  traded  on  the 
fact  that,  such  was  the  bitterness  of  feeling  in  Ireland  at 
the  time,  Parnell  might  have  said,  and  probably  did  say, 
that  "  Burke  got  no  more  than  his  deserts." 

Note  IV.  (Page  146,  ante). 

On  November  17,  1890,  Captain  O'Shea  obtained  a 
decree  of  divorce  against  his  wife,  Mr.  Parnell  being  the 
co-respondent.  To  both  Parnellites  and  Liberals  this  was 
a  "  bolt  from  the  blue.-1'1  But  for  a  week  it  looked  as 
though  the  event  would  pass  without  materially  affecting 
either  party.  Mr.  Gladstone  made  no  sign,  and  even 
the  Irish  Roman  Catholic  Bishops  were  silent.  The 
Nationalists  met  in  Dublin  on  the  20th,  and  decided 
with  enthusiasm  to  maintain  his  leadership  ;  and  at  their 
usual  meeting  at  the  opening  of  the  Session  they  re-elected 
him  chairman  of  the  party.  But  "  the  Nonconformist 
conscience  "  was  aroused,  and  that  same  evening  (25th)  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Gladstone  was  issued  to  the  Press,  an- 
nouncing that,  unless  Parnell  was  shelved,  he  would 
withdraw  from  the  leadership  of  the  Liberal  party  On 
the  29th,  Parnell  issued  a  manifesto  in  reply,  to  the  effect 
that  his  Hawarden  visit  had  satisfied  him  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone intended  to  play  them  false,  and  claiming  to  stand 
between  his  country  and  betrayal.  Then  followed  the 
historic     meetings  in    Committee  Room    No.    15,    which 


PARNELL'S  LAPSE  AND  DEATH    215 

resulted,  after  a  bitter  struggle,  in  ParneH's  deposition  by 
the  very  men  who  a  few  days  before  had  elected  him  to 
the  leadership. 

Supported  by  an  influential  minority  of  his  party,  he 
made  a  fierce  fight  to  maintain  his  supremacy  in  Ireland. 
But  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  followed  Mr.  Gladstone 
in  repudiating  him,  and  his  failure  to  carry  his  nominees 
at  various  bye-elections  gave  proof  that  his  power  was 
broken.  The  struggle  proved  a  cruel  exposure  of  the 
Nationalists.  There  were  honourable  exceptions — men 
who,  through  it  all,  bore  themselves  with  dignity.  But 
for  the  mass  it  was  a  perfect  orgy  of  Bedlam-c^w-Billings- 
gate  ;  and  if  even  a  little  of  what  they  said  about  one 
another  be  true,  the  Irish  loyalists  may  well  pray  to  be 
saved  from  a  Parliament  which  such  men  would  control. 

Parnell  married  Mrs.  CTShea,  and  lived  with  her  in 
Brighton.  On  October  6,  1891,  he  died  from  the  effects 
of  a  chill  contracted  the  week  before  in  one  of  his  flying 
visits  to  Ireland.  On  the  following  Saturday  his  body 
was  conveyed  to  Ireland  ;  and  his  funeral  in  Dublin  on 
Sunday,  the  11th,  was  a  great  popular  demonstration, 
unparalleled  since  the  death  of  O'Connell.  He  was  only 
forty-six  years  of  age  at  his  death. 

The  great-grandson  of  Sir  John  Parnell  of  Grattan\s 
Parliament,  Parnell  was  returned  as  M.P.  for  Meath  in 
1875,  and  at  once  made  his  presence  felt  at  Westminster 
by  a  policy  of  organized  obstruction. 


Note  V.  (Page  189,  ante). 

In  his  "Recollections  of  Fenians  and  Fenianism,v'  John 
O'Leary  quotes  the  following  extracts  from  one  of  Charles 
J.  Kickhaufs  articles  in  The  Irish  People.  And  he  adds 
much  of  his  own  to  the  same  effect.  Both  these  men, 
be  it  remembered,  wrote  as  Roman  Catholics. 

"  The  majority  of  our  priests  are  the  sons  of  farmers. 


216  ArrENDIX 

They  are  sent  to  college  at  an  early  age  knowing  little  or 
nothing  of  the  world.  From  the  day  they  don  the  coat 
of  the  ecclesiastical  student,  till  they  are  ordained,  thev 
scarcely  give  a  thought  to  politics.  Pious,  moral,  full  of 
zeal  for  religion,  and  of  pride  in  their  order,  these  young 
men  enter  on  their  priestly  duties.  The  farmer's  son, 
who  looked  with  awe  upon  the  village  despot — who  put  his 
hand  to  his  hat  for  his  shoneen,  and  was  looked  down 
upon  even  by  respectable  Catholics — finds  himself  suddenly 
metamorphosed  into  an  object  of  reverence  ;  finds  those 
who  looked  down  upon  him  ready  to  court  and  flatter 
him.  It  should  be  a  strong  head  that  this  could  not 
turn  .  .  .  then  the  altar  is  turned  into  a  platform  .  .  . 
a  scandal  which  would  not  be  tolerated  in  any  other 
country  in  the  world  but  Ireland.'" 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  "  headed  article " 
by  Mr.  Bart  Kennedy,  which  appeared  in  the  Daily  Mail 
of  May  16,  1905  :— 

"  Ireland  is  under  the  shadow  of  an  insolent  and 
arrogant  priest-power.  The  heel  of  the  priest  is  on  her 
neck.  I  have  nothing  to  say  against  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  for  I  am  a  Roman  Catholic  myself.  I  am  a  firm 
believer  in  the  grand  service  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  has  done  for  civilisation.  I  bow  before  the 
splendour  of  her  wonderful  and  awe-inspiring  ritual.  A 
beautiful  Catholic  church  is  of  far  more  value  to  mankind, 
even  in  a  utilitarian  sense,  than  a  factory.  No  one  can 
deny  the  debt  that  mankind  owes  to  Catholicism. 

"  But  the  Holy  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  suffered 
before  now  from  its  priests.  The  deadliest  enemies  it  has 
ever  had  have  been  priests.  Priests  lost  for  it  Italy  and 
Prance.     Will  they  lose  for  it  Ireland  ? 

"  My  attention  was  first  drawn  to  the  power  of  priests, 
and  the  way  they  use  it,  here  in  Galway — this  old, 
picturesque  town  that  stands  in  view  of  the  vast  Atlantic 
Ocean. 


THE  IRISH  PRIESTS  217 

"It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  people  here  are  in 
positive  terror  of  the  priests.  They  can  neither  call  their 
lives  nor  their  minds  their  own.  When  they  speak  of  the 
priests  they  speak  in  whispers.  Even  people  who  are  not 
Catholics  are  afraid.  It  is  dreadful  to  be  in  a  place 
where  people  are  afraid  to  speak. 

"  The  priests  rule  everything  and  interfere;  in  every- 
thing. The  hand  of  God — as  represented  by  the  priests 
— falls  heavily  upon  Galway. 

"And  these  priests  stand  high  above  criticism.  No 
one  shall  dare  speak  to  the  hierarchy  of  Ireland.  For 
the  hierarchy  cares  for  nothing  that  is  said.  It  is 
serenely  above  all  other  judgments  save  its  own. 

"  But  all  things  cost  something.  This  hierarchical 
serenity  has  cost  Rome  Italy.  It  has  cost  Rome  France. 
It  will  cost  Rome  Ireland. 

"And  I,  a  Roman  Catholic,  say  that  these  arrogant 
Irish  priests  no  more  represent  the  sacred  and  beautiful 
Roman  Catholic  Faith  than  the  priests  of  Tibet  represent 
Buddhism — the  priests  who  live  their  lives  in  holes  in 
rocks. 

"  Are  the  hierarchical  authorities  in  Rome  aware  of 
what  the  priests  are  doing  in  Ireland  P  Are  they  aware 
that  they  are  grinding  the  lives  and  the  souls  out  of  the 
people  ?  Are  they  aware  that  the  people  dare  not  speak  ? 
Are  they  aware  that  even  the  peasants  are  secretly 
revolting  against  the  tyranny  of  the  priests  ? 

"  If  they  are  not  aware  of  this,  it  is  time,  then,  that 
they  sent  some  alert  and  observant  cleric  to  look  into  the 
question.  Rome  has  been  accused  of  many  things,  but  no 
one  has  ever  accused  Rome  of  lack  of  intelligence. 

"  Let  the  authorities  of  Rome  look  to  Ireland,  and  see 
if  the  priests  are  not  acting  against  the  interests  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.11 


2  F 


218  APPENDIX 


Note  VI.  (Page  207,  ante). 

A  volume  might  be  filled  with  authoritative  proofs 
that  all  the  educated  ami  prosperous  classes  in  Ireland  are 
opposed  to  Home  Rule.     But  a  few  must  suffice. 

The  notable  demonstrations  of  June,  1892,  claim  a 
prominent  place  in  this  connection.  The  great  Unionist 
Convention  held  in  Belfast  on  the  17th  of  that  month 
was  a  meeting  of  extraordinary  interest  and  importance. 
A  special  building  had  to  be  erected  to  contain  the 
delegates.  The  Duke  of  Abercorn  presided,  and  every 
interest  which  makes  Ulster  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
portions  of  the  United  Kingdom  was  represented  on 
the  platform.  The  following  resolution  was  carried 
unanimously  and  with  great  enthusiasm  : — 

"That  this  Convention, consisting  of  11,879  delegates, 
representing  the  Unionists  of  every  creed,  class,  and  party 
throughout  Ulster,  appointed  at  public  meetings  held  in 
every  electoral  division  of  the  province,  hereby  solemnly 
resolves  and  declares — 

"1.  That  we  express  the  devoted  loyalty  of  Ulster 
Unionists  to  the  Crown  and  Constitution  of  the  United 
Kingdom  ; 

"2.  That  we  avow  our  fixed  resolve  to  retain  un- 
changed our  present  position  as  an  integral  portion  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  protest  in  the  most  unequivocal 
manner  against  the  passage  of  any  measure  that  would 
rob  us  of  our  inheritance  in  the  Imperial  Parliament, 
under  the  protection  of  which  our  capital  has  been 
invested,  and  our  homes  and  rights  safeguarded  ; 

"  3.  That  we  record  our  determination  to  have  nothing 
to  do  with  a  Parliament  certain  to  be  controlled  by  men 
responsible  for  the  crime  and  outrage  of  the  Land  League, 
the    dishonesty    of    the   '  Plan    of    Campaign,1   and    the 


THE  UNIONIST  CONVENTIONS     219 

cruelties  of  boycotting,  many  of  whom  have  shown  them- 
selves the  ready  instruments  of  clerical  domination  ; 

"  4.  That  we  declare  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain 
our  conviction  that  the  attempt  to  set  up  such  a  Parlia- 
ment in  Ireland  will  inevitably  result  in  disorder,  violence, 
and  bloodshed,  such  as  has  not  been  experienced  this 
century  ;  and  announce  our  resolve  to  take  no  part  in  the 
election  or  proceedings  of  such  a  Parliament,  the  authority 
of  which,  should  it  ever  be  constituted,  we  shall  be  forced 
to  repudiate  ; 

"  5.  That  we  protest  against  this  great  question, 
which  involves  our  lives,  property,  and  civil  rights,  being 
treated  as  a  mere  side  issue  in  the  impending  electoral 
struggle  ; 

"  6.  That  we  appeal  to  those  of  our  fellow-countrymen 
who  have  hitherto  been  in  favour  of  a  separate  Parliament, 
to  abandon  a  demand  which  hopelessly  divides  Irishmen, 
and  to  unite  with  us'uinjer  the  Imperial  Legislature  in 
developing  the  resources  an  furthering  the  best  interests 
of  our  common  country." 

The  following  week  (June  25)  a  similar  convention 
was  held  in  Dublin,  representing  ft  i  Unionists  of  the 
three  southern  provinces.  The  platform  was  crowded  by 
"  men  of  light  and  leading,"  and  the  speakers  included 
peers,  scholars,  professional  men,  merchants  and  traders, 
landowners  and  farmers — in  a  word,  men  representing  all 
classes,  all  creeds,  and  all  interests. 

The  Earl  of  Fingall,  the  head  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
laity  of  Ireland,  presided,  and  his  opening  speech  contained 
the  following  significant  sentences  : — 

"  I  hasten  on  behalf  of  loyal  Catholics  and  Liberal 
Unionists  to  assure  our  Protestant  and  Conservative 
companions  in  arms  that  we  will  stand  by  them  as  long  as 
they  stand  by  us.  I  am  not  aware  that  in  the  southern 
province  of  Ireland  there  has  ever  been  seen  an  assembly 
such  as  I  am    addressing.     Every    creed   and    class,    all 


220  APPENDIX 

professions,  trades,  and  occupations,  arc  represented  here, 
each  county  having  sent  its  proper  proportion  of  delegates 
duly  appointed  at  meetings  of  electors.  .  .  . 

"So  ,far  as  Catholics  are  concerned,  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  if  our  faith  can  be  said  to  have  any 
political  tendency  at  all,  it  is  rather  towards  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Union  than  towards  Home  Rule.  This 
was  illustrated  a  few  years  ago  when  Home  Rulers  called 
to  their  aid  the  most  inhuman  political  agencies,  which 
the  head  of  my  Church  was  constrained  to  condemn." 

He  then  went  on  to  refer  to  the  Papal  rescript  con- 
demning the  action  of  the  League,  and  Mr.  Gladstone's 
statement  that  "  the  whole  of  the  Irish  Roman  Catholics, 
including  the  clergy  and  almost  every  bishop,  opposed  this 
rescript."     And  he  added — 

"  But  the  quotation  I  have  given  you  contains  one 
remarkable  and  damning  admission  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Gladstone — namely,  that  in  order  to  bolster  up  the  Home 
Rule  movement,  our  priests  are  led  in  a  new  crusade 
against  the  authority  of  the  Pope  by  the  Irish  members 
of  Parliament.  It  is  not  for  us  to  inquire  whether  under 
Home  Rule  the  priests  would  dictate  to  members  of 
Parliament  as  to  their  politics,  or  whether  members  of 
Parliament  would  dictate  to  priests  as  to  their  obedience 
to  the  Pope.  I  prefer  to  follow  the  simple  instincts  of  an 
inherited  faith  .ither  than  the  guidance  of  even  such  an 
intellectual  giant  as  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  thus  I  come  by 
the  belief  that  the  Catholic  religion  is  better  safeguarded 
under  the  protection  of  the  Imperial  Parliament  than  it 
would  be  under  any  form  of  Home  Rule  Government 
which  Mr.  Gladstone  can  devise." 

The  following  "declaration"  was  passed  by  the 
Convention  : — 

"  We,  Irishmen,  belonging  to  the  three  southern 
provinces,  being  of  all  creeds  and  classes,  representing 
many  separate  interests,  and  sharing  a  common  desire  for 


THE  UNIONIST  CONVENTIONS     221 

the  honour  and  welfare  of  our  country,  hereby  declare  our 
unswerving  allegiance  to  the  Throne  and  Constitution, 
and  our  unalterable  determination  to  uphold  the  Legisla- 
tive Union  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

"  We  protest  against  the  creation  of  a  Parliament  in 
Ireland  whether  separate  or  subordinate. 

"  We  protest  against  the  creation  of  an  Irish  Executive, 
dependent  for  its  existence  upon  the  pleasure  of  an  Irish 
Parliament. 

"  We  do  so  upon  the  following  grounds : — 

"  Because  any  measure  for  the  creation  of  a  separate 
Irish  Parliament  and  a  separate  Irish  Executive  would 
produce  most  dangerous  social  confusion,  involving  a 
disastrous  conflict  of  interests  and  classes,  and  a  serious 
risk  of  civil  war. 

"  Because  such  a  measure  would  imperil  personal 
liberty,  freedom  of  opinion,  and  the  spirit  of  tolerance 
in  Ireland. 

"  Because  such  a  measure,  instead  of  effecting  a  settle- 
ment, would  inevitably  pave  the  way  for  further  efforts 
towards  the  complete  separation  of  Ireland  from  Great 
Britain. 

"  Because  no  statutory  limitations  restricting  the 
authority  of  an  Irish  Legislative  Assembly,  or  the  power 
of  an  Irish  Executive,  could  protect  the  freedom  and 
the  rights  of  minorities  in  the  Provinces  of  Leinster, 
Munster,  and  Connaught. 

"  Because,  while  in  the  divided  state  of  Irish  society,  no 
party  in  Ireland  can  safely  be  trusted  with  powers  of 
government  over  the  other  sections  of  the  community, 
such  a  measure  would  hand  over  Ireland  to  the  govern- 
ment of  a  party  which  has  proved  itself  unworthy  of  the 
exercise  of  power  by  its  systematic  defiance  of  the  law, 
and  disregard  of  the  elementary  principles  of  honesty, 
liberty,  and  justice. 

•*  Because  the  Imperial  Parliament  is  fully  competent 


222  APPENDIX 

and  willing  to  legislate  for  Ireland,  to  maintain  justice 
and  equality,  and  to  promote,  by  wise  enactments,  the 
welfare  of  our  country. 

"Finally,  regarding  the  question  from  a  wider  point  of 
view  than  that  which  concerns  alone  the  internal  govern- 
ment of  Ireland,  highly  prizing  as  we  do  the  advantages 
which  we  derive  from  our  present  Imperial  position,  and 
being  justly  proud  of  the  place  which  Irishmen  have  long 
held  amongst  those  to  whom  the  Empire  owes  its  pros- 
perity and  fame,  having  been  faithful  in  our  allegiance  to 
our  Sovereign,  upholders  of  the  Constitution,  and  ob- 
servers of  the  law,  we  protest  against  any  change  that 
will  deprive  us  of  our  constitutional  birthright,  by  which 
we  stand  on  equal  ground  with  Englishmen  and  Scotch- 
men as  subjects  of  our  beloved  Queen  and  as  citizens  of 
the  British  Empire." 


INDEX 


Adrian  IV.,  Pope,  39 
Alexander  III.,  Pope,  40 
Alverstone,  Lord,  143 
America,  the  conspirators  in,  59 
American  Fenians,  the,  84 
Amsterdam,  the  Boers'  Committee 

at,  159 
Anderson,     Sir     Samuel     Lee,    20 

(note) ;    his   friendship  with   the 

author,    36;    how    his    life    was 

saved,  103 
Apjohn,  Lewis,  his  "  Life  of  Lord 

Beaconsticld,"  81  (note) 
Arms  Act,  the,  43,  46 
Ashbourne,  Lord,  article  by,  98,  99 
Attorney -General,  the  Irish.  (39 

Balfour.  Lowry,  54  (note) 

Barrett,  Michael,  the  last  man 
publicly  executed  in  England,  81 

Belfast,  Ihe  Unionist.  Convention  at, 
218 

Bell,  Edward,  the  arrest  of,  128; 
withdrawal  of  the  prosecution 
against  him,  129  ;  his  legal  ad- 
viser, 130  :  his  confederates,  131 

Boers,  the,  helped  by  the  Land 
League,  159 

Boston,  the  second  Annual  Conven- 
tion of  the  Irish  National  League 
at,  122 

"  Boycotting,''  the  inauguration  of, 
92  ;  W.  E.  Gladstone's  attitude 
towards,  ib. 

Brackenbury,  Col.,  now  General 
Sir  Henry,  G.C.B.,  124;  official 
relations  with  him,  125 

Brennan,  secretary  to  the  Irish  Land 
League,  119 


Brett,  Sergeant,  the  murderers  of, 
103 

Bright.  John,  on  W.  E.  Gladstone's 
influence,  183;  his  opposition  to 
the  Home  Rule  Bill  of  1886 ..  192 ; 
quotation  from  his  letter  of  May 
13,  1886.  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  199 

Bruce,  Henry  A.  (Lord  Aberdare), 
82,  83,  206  (note) 

Burke,  Kicard,  74 ;  committed  to 
the  House  of  Detention  at  Clerk- 
enwell,  75 

Burke,  Thomas  Henry,  murder  of, 
4 ;  the  spot  where  he  was  mur- 
dered, 102  :  when  his  assassination 
was  planned,  106 

Butt,  Isaac,  recruits  raised  by  him, 
171  ;  the  scheme  which  he  cham- 
pioned, 204 ;  words  of  his  on  the 
government  of  Ireland,  205 

Byrne,  Frank,  his  share  in  the 
Phoenix  Park  murders,  111 ;  his 
flight  to  France,  ib. ;  the  cheque 
sent  to  him  by  Parnell,  114 


Cambridge,  Roman  Catholic  College 

for  training  priests  at,  33 
Campbell,  Lord,  77  (note) 
Campbell-Bannerman,    Sir    Henry, 

his  views  of  a  legislative  body  for 

Ireland,  180  (note) 
Campobello,  the  island  of,  the  raid 

to  seize,  60 
Canada,  the  first  raid   on,  59 ;  the 

raid  of  1870  on,  84 
Carey,  refuses  to  identify  Mrs.  Byrne, 

111 
Carlisle,  the  Earl  of,  48 


224 


INDEX 


Cavendish,     Lord     Frederick,     the 
murder  of,  4 ;  his  arrival  in  Ire- 
land,  102 ;    spot   where  he  was 
murdered,    ib.  ;    his    murder    an 
accident,  105,  106 
Chamberlain,  Joseph.  96:  his  con- 
nection   with     the     negotiations 
with    Captain    O'Shea,    99,   100; 
his    share    in    the     Kilmainham 
treaty,  100 
Chester  Castle,  abortive  raid  ou.  64 
Chicago,  Fenian  meeting  at,  118; 
annual  meeting  of   the  Clan-na- 
Gael  at,  162,  163 
Cincinnati,  Parnell's  speech  at,  87 
Clan-na-Gael,  the,  119;  leaders  of, 
120;  organization   and   dynamite 
crusade  of,  125;  Cronin's  expul- 
sion from,  132  ;  the  annual  meet- 
ing of,  at  Chicago,  162 ;  resolution 
passed  by  it  at  the  Chicago  meet- 
ing, 163 
Clare,  Lord,  speech  by,  44 
Clare  Co.,  disturbances  in,  65 
Clerkenwell  explosion,  the,  :■,  69-79  ; 
brings  Fenianism  to  the  front  in 
England,   6 ;    the   full    dress  re- 
hearsal of,  75  ;  the  purpose  of  the 
plot  thwarted,  76;  consequences 
of  the  explosion,  77 
Cluseret,  makes  the  acquaintance  of 
Stephens,  63 ;  leaves  for  Europe, 
64  ;  in  Paris,  65 
Coercion  in  Ireland,  42,  43, 174-180; 

the  nature  of,  186 
"Coercion  Act  of  1882,"  the,  108; 
Mr.  Motley's  mention  of,  in  his 
"  Life  of  Gladstone,"  109 
Coleridge,  Sir  J.  D.,  a   conference 

with,  82 
Commercial  legislation,  170 
"Committee  Room,  No.  15,"  meet- 
ings in,  214 
Connangot    Fenians,    the,   refuse  to 

move,  65 
Cork  Co.  disturbances  in,  65 
Cork     Herald,    the,     libel     action 
against,  101  (note) 


Corydon,  the  informer,  73 

Cowper,    Lord,    succeeded    in    the 

Viceroyalty   of    Ireland   by   Earl 

Spencer,  96 
-  Crime  and  Outrage  Act,"  the,  47 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  the  cruelties  of 

his  reconquest  of  Ireland,  40  ;  his 

policy,  168 
Cronin.  his  murder  by  the  Clan-na- 
Gael,  132;  hij  papers,  133 
Cullen,  Cardinal,  refuses  the  use  of 

the     cathedral     at     Dubliu    for 

McManu  '-  funeral,  51 


Daily  Mm'!,  the,  extract  from  an 
article  in,  by  Bart  Kennedy,  216 

Daily  News,  the,  144 

Davitt,  Michael,  succeeds  EUcard 
Burke  as  "arms agent,"  81  ;  arrest 
and  conviction  of,  ib. ;  iutercsting 
personality  of,  S5  ;  arrest  of,  93  ; 
declares  his  readiness  to  bring  the 
Phoenix  Park  murderers  to  justice, 
111  ;  obtains  a  statement  reflect- 
ing upon  the  Opposition  leaders, 
149  (note);  an  article  by  him  in 
the  Nineteenth  Century,  164 , 
story  of  a  conversation  he  had 
with  Parnell,  179 

Deasy,  Captain,  arrest  of, 73;  lescue 
of,  71 

de  Clare,  Richard,  40 

"Devolution,"  unanimous  repudia- 
tion of,  195 

Devoy,  John,  155,  156;  his  vie*    , 
85;     the    appeal    made    to    him 
through    Le  Caron,  1 60;  an  ad 
vanced  type  of  Fenian,  lf>l 

Dillon,  M.P.,  John,  196  ('ml-  |  , 
makes  8  nominal  audit  of  the 
Land  League  funds.  I L3 

Dublin,  gathering  of  Fenians  in,  59, 
65  ;  disturbances  in,  65;  flighi  oi 
Fenians  from,  66;  the  Unionist 
Convention  at,  219, 220 

'•Dublin  Castle,"  48 

Dunne,  the  Irish  American,  66 


INDEX 


225 


Dutch   Reformed    Pastors  in  South 

Africa,  the,  influence  of,  34 
Dynamite  Campaign,  the,  124 
Dynamite  plot  of  1896,  the,  128 
Dynamiters,   the   number   of   those 
convicted,  126 


Edinburgh,  The  Duke  of,  at- 
tempted assassination  of,  81  (note) 

Egan,  Patrick,  treasurer  of  the 
Land  League,  104  ;  his  share  in 
the  Phoenix  Park  murders,  111; 
amount  of  the  receipts  acknow- 
ledged by  him,  113  (note);  is 
appointed  President  of  the  Irish 
National  League,  122 ;  goes  to 
Paris  with  Le  Caron,  155;  is 
visited  by  the  Chairman  of  the 
Boers'  Committee,  159;  his  reason 
for  objecting  to  an  audit  of  the 
Land  League  funds,  160;  sends  a 
representative  to  the  Clan-na-Gael 
meeting  at  Chicago,  163 

Emmet,  his  dream,  86 

';  English  Interference  with  Irish 
Industries,"  a  quotation  from,  170, 
171 

"  Explosives  Act,  1883,"  the,  127 


"  Facsimile  Letter,"  the,  Pigott's 
denial  of,  144 ;  reason  for  its 
concoction,  ib. ;  text  of,  212 ; 
hypotheses  as  to  the  writing  of 
it,  213;  the  writer  of,  214 

Fenian  Brotherhood,  the,  strength 
of,  56  ;  first  National  Convention 
of,  ib. ;  second  National  Con- 
vention of,  ib. ;  third  National 
Convention  of,  57 

Fenian  demands  of  1867,  the,  (57 

Fenian  informer,  the  murder  of  a, 
89,91 

Fenian  movement,  the,  36;  origin 
of,  2 ;  to  the  front  in  England,  6 ; 
reports  on  the  rise  and  progress 
of,   37;    pr&ois   of    secret   papers 


dealing  with  it,  ib. ;  secret  history 
of,  49 ;  date  of  its  origin,  50 ; 
action  to  suppress,  54 ;  renewal 
of  its  activity,  62;  lesson  to  be 
derived  from  its  secret  history, 
80  ;  revival  of  its  activity  in 
London,  ib.,  82;  its  organization 
in  London,  90 

Fenian  scares,  77,  78 

Fenians,  prosecution  of,  69 

Fingall,  the  Earl  of,  presides  over  the 
Unionist  Convention  at  Dublin, 
219 

Ford,  Patrick,  118,  155 

Forster,  W.  E.,  how  he  escaped 
assassination,  104  ;  when  his  as- 
sassination was  planned,  106 ;  his 
policy,  107  ;  his  words  as  to 
Parnell's  knowledge  of  the  Phoenix 
Park  murders,  113  ;  his  work  in 
Ireland  hampered  by  want  of 
sympathy  from  Gladstone,  115 ; 
his  attitude  to  Gladstone,  124 ; 
his  attempt  to  grapple  with  the 
Land  League,  178 

Franchise,  the  popular,  190,  191 

Froude,  J.  A.,  on  the  government 
of  Ireland,  206 


Gallagher,  Dr.,  his  mission,  122, 
125  ;  meets  Le  Caron,  150 

Gladstone,  W.  E.,  his  Leeds  speech, 
47 ;  his  estimate  of  the  Clerken- 
well  explosion,  79  ;  his  succession 
to  Lord  Beaconsrield  as  Premier, 
88;  his  philippic  against  Parnell, 
93,  95 ;  undertakes  to  adopt  the 
programme  of  the  Land  League, 
96 ;  explanation  of  his  attitude 
towards  the  Kilmainham  treaty, 
97;  his  private  bargain  with 
Parnell,  98,  99 ;  his  negotiations 
with  Mrs.  O'Shea,  100;  his  words 
in  the  Home  Rule  debate  of  1893 . . 
101 ;  his  policy,  107  ;  his  awaken- 
ing to  a  sense  of  the  responsibilities 
of   government,    110;  memorable 

2    G 


226 


INDEX 


words  uttered  by,  114;  commis- 
sions Sir  W.  Harcourt  to  negotiate 
the  destruction  of  theKilmainham 
documents,  114;  his  lack  of  sym- 
pathy with  Forster's  work  in 
Ireland,  115;  his  reference  to 
"National  Self-government,"'  116, 
117  ;  his  attitude  to  Forster,  124  ; 
his  view  of  the  charges  brought  by 
the  Timts  against  the  Parni  Ili1 
135 ;  his  meeting  with  the  lawyers 
at  the  Special  Commission,  142 
(note) ;  his  words  as  to  the  Clerken- 
well  explosion,  159 ;  his  later 
policy,  169  ;  his  Home  Rule  Bills, 
171,  172  -.  his  Home  Rule  scheme, 
1S1  (note);  his  policy,  182-193; 
his  sudden  change  of  front  upon 
the  Irish  question,  182  ;  his  pi  m  >  I 
and  influence  183,  184 ;  his  per- 
sonality, 184,  ISo ;  prophetic 
words  uttered  by,  194  ;  his  inter- 
view at  Hawarden  with  Mr. 
Morley,  197;  his  proverbial  three 
courses,  200,  201  ;  words  uttered 
by,  203;  the  feeling  with  which 
his  administration  of  Ireland  was 
regarded  by  loyalists,  209 ;  he 
repudiates  Parnell,  214  ;  a  remark- 
able admission  on  his  part,  220 

Government,  continuity  of,  206 

Government,     a,     the      elementary 
function  of,  175 

"Grattan's    Parliament,"    42,   170 
187 ;  its  restoration,  196,  197 

Grey,  Sir  George,  his  "Crime  and 
Outrage  Act,"  47 


Habeas  Corpus  Scsfenbion  Acts, 
the,  13,  17.  59 

Hannen,  Sir  .lames,  a  veiled  attack, 
on,  136 

Barcourt,  Sir  William,  2,  88;  his 

on  mn   the  bargain  with  Le 

( '.mm,  i',;  bis  attack  on  the  author, 

7,  8;  his  at  lack  on  Sir  R.  Web  ter, 

8;  letter  from  him  to  the  author, 


18,  19;  friendship  of,  20,  21; 
generosity  of  his  character,  21 ; 
an  interview  with  him,  22  ;  gene- 
rous letter  from,  23 ;  his  relations 
with  Lord  Roaebery,  23,  24  ;  the 
pleasure  of  working  for  him,  89  ; 
his  impulsiveness,  90;  his  ignor- 
ance of  Gladstone's  bargain  with 
Parnell,  98.  99;  a  party  at  his 
house,  113 ;  is  commissioned  by 
Gladstone  to  negotiate  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Kilmainham  docu- 
ments, 114  ;  his  relations  with  W. 
E.  Forster,  115;  his  "  Explosives 
Act,  1883  "..127;  his  description 
of  "  governing  Ireland  according 
to  Irish  ideas."  204 

Hardy,  Gathorne,  his  narrative  of 
what  was  done  in  pursuance  of  the 
warning  of  the  Clerkenwell  Ex- 
plosion, 75  (note) 

Harris,  M.P.,  Matthew,  his  nominal 
audit  of  the  Land  League  Funds, 
113 

Hawarden,  Mr.  Morley's  account  of 
Parnell's  visit  to,  144 

Healy,  T.  M.,  extract  from  one  of 
his  speeches,  103  (note);  attends 
the  Chicago  Convention,  118 

Home  Rule,  Ireland  under,  42  ;  the 
case  for,  166-181 ;  the  attitude  of 
statesmanship  towards,  168 ;  a 
result  of  the  grant  of  Home  Rule, 
179;  W.  E.  Gladstone's  scheme 
of,  181  (note) ;  Mr.  Morley's  pre- 
•i  nfmeiit  of  the  Home  Ride  con- 
troversy, 182;  attitude  of  Glad- 
stone's Former  colleagues  bn 
183;  the  Bills  of  L886and  L893. . 
171,  172, 185  (note) ;  the  ground 
on  which  it  is  recommended  to 
the  public,  186;  the  alternative 
to,  186;  the  allegation  thai  Home 
Rule  has  nothing  in  common  %%  •  1 1 1 
separation,  194;  the  dangei  of 
Home  Rule  adminJ  I  ral  ion,  204  ; 
opposition  of  educated  and  pros- 
perous classes  in  Ireland  to  it,  ~18 


INDEX 


227 


Home  Rule  majority,  the,  191 

Home  Rule  Bill,  W.  E.  Gladstone's, 
171;  its  wreck,  200;  his  second 
Bill,  172 ;  petitions  against,  185 
(note) 

Home  Rule  Confederation  of  Great 
Britain,  the,  starting  of,  161 

Home  Rule  Members  of  Parliament, 
173  (note) 

Home  Rule  vote,  the,  173 

Houston,  E.  C,  how  he  appeared  on 
the  scene,  13 ;  extent  of  his  access 
to  the  Le  Carou  correspondence, 
15 

Huddys,  murder  of  the,  109 

Hynes,  William  T.,  Le  Carou  de- 
puted to  see  him,  157 ;  his  appeal 
to  him,  160 ;  is  a  bitter  advocate 
of  force,  161 


Illinois,  disclosures  at  a  Fenian 
murder  trial  in,  132 

Informants,  how  they  were  dealt 
with,  89,  91 

Insurrection  Act,  the,  some  pro- 
visions of,  42 

Invincibles,  the,  140,  210,  211 

Ireland,  the  so-called  English  con- 
quest of,  40  ;  under  Home  Rule, 
42 ;  state  of,  during  the  half- 
century  preceding  the  famine,  46  ; 
a  decade  of  tranquillity  in,  47  ; 
origin  of  its  present  condition,  48  ; 
abandonment  of  exceptional  legis- 
lation for,  63;  insecurity  of  life 
and  property  in,  107;  "brutal 
murders"  in,  109;  prosperous 
and  cultured  Ireland,  195  (note) 

Irish  affairs,  38 

Irish  Church,  the,  evangelicals  of, 
28 ;  the  disestablishment  of,  171 

Irish  industries.  168 

Irish  Land  League  of  America,  the 
founding  of  the,  118 

"  Irish  Nation,"  the,  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  189 

Irish  National  Convention,  the,  118 


Irish    National    League,    116-123, 

195 
Irish  National  Movement,  the,  4 
Irish  peasant,  an,  his  description  of 
the   Irish    colony  in  New  York, 
204 
Irish  peasants,  their  hatred  of  Eng- 
land, 168;  their  attitude  towards 
Home   Rule,    174 ;  their  popery, 
189 
Irish     People,     the,     founded     by 
Stephens,  52;  raid  on  its  office, 
54 ;     extract     from    articles    in, 
215 
Irish  Presbyterians,  171,  172 
Irish  priests,  their  power  and  nature, 

215-217 
Irish  Protestants,  massacre  of,  in 
1641,  Hume's  account  of,  41; 
their  hostility  to  England,  169. 
170 ;  their  present  attitude  to- 
wards England  and  Home  Rule, 
171 ;  seemingly  aggressive  cha- 
racter of,  190 
Irish   Question,  the,  how   it  might 

have  been  settled,  48 
Irish  representation  at  Westminster, 

200 
"  Irish  Republic,"  the,  64,  70 
Irish  Republican  Brotherhood,  50 
Irish  Roman  Catholic  bishops,  29 
Irish  World,  the,  declares  the  policy 
of    founding    "  the    Skirmishing 
Fund,"  118 


James,  Sir  Henry,  now  Lord  James 

of  Hereford,  151-153 
Jarvis,  Inspector,  148 
Johnson,     President,     his     alleged 

favourable  reception  of  Fenians, 

57 
Jubilee  plot,  the,  126,  131 


Kelly,  "  Colonel,"  recklessness  of, 
63 ;  leaves  for  Europe,  64 ;  in 
London.  65  ;  deceit  and  cowardice 


228 


INDEX 


of,  71 ;  arrest  of,  73 ;   rescue  of, 

74 
Kennedy,  Bart,  216 
Ktriv,  abortive  outbreak  in.  64 
ki<  klniiu,  C.  .T..  54  ;  extract    fi 

one  of  his  articles  in  the    Irish 

People,  21  5 
Kilfenane,  67 
Killian,  Doran.  59 
Kilmainham   treaty,  the,  90;   con- 
i  lit    of  the   Cabinet  to   it,    '.'7 

Justin   McCarthy's  share  in,  100 

(note);  the  policy  of  the  treaty, 

100;  documents  of,  114 
Kilmullurk.     serious    encounter    in, 

06,  G7 


Labouchere.  Henry,  19  ;  his  state- 
ments about  the  "Special  Com- 
mission,'' 147  ;  the  action  brought 
against  him,  148 

Labour  World,  the,  a  statement 
published  in,  149  (note) 

Ladies'  Laud  League,  the,  in- 
augurated by  Miss  Anna  Paruell, 
93 

"  Land  Law  Reform,"  relegated  to 
second  place,  110 

Land  League,  the,  establishment  of, 
80;  committal  of  its  local  leaders 
to  gaol,  93;  suppression  of,  95; 
the  horrors  of  its  rule,  110; 
suggested  audit  of  its  funds,  113 
(note);  the  books  of  the  League, 
141  ;  cruelties  of  the  League,  14  2; 
Egan's  reason  for  objecting  to  an 
audit  of  the  League's  funds,  100; 
the  Papal  rescript  condemning 
the  League,  220 

Larcom,  Sir  Thomas,  30  :  "  Larcom 
and  the  police,"  49 

Lawson,  Mr.,  54 

Le  Caron,  Major  Henri,  3 ;  his 
appearance  in  the  witness-box,  5 ; 
his  "  Twenty-five  Years  in  the 
Secret  Service,"  5  (note) ;  his 
career,  5;  his  evidence,   11  :  bis 


desire  to  give  evidence  before  the 
Special  Commission,  12;  the 
author's  anxiety  to  keep  him  out 
of  court,  13;  production  of  the 
letters  to  him,  14;  his  integrity, 
ib.,  25;  lie-  relationship  with  the 
author,  24:  Mr.  Morley's  attack 
on  him,  25;  the  reward  given  to 
him  for  preventing  the  second 
raid  on  Canada,  ib.  ;  his  useful- 
ness in  reference  to  second  raid  on 
Canada,  84 ;  his  evidence  before 
the  Special  Commission,  147;  his 
disclosures,  149;  his  truthfulness, 
ib. ;  warnings  given  by  him  of 
plots,  150;  his  first  meeting  with 
Dr.  Gallagher  and  Lomasney,  ib. ; 
trustworthiness  of  his  information, 
151  ;  his  letters,  ib. ;  the  pitli  of 
his  evidence,  153;  his  interview 
with  Parnell  in  the  library  corri- 
dor of  the  House  of  Commons, 
153,  155  ;  his  evidence,  155-105  ; 
letter  from  him  during  his  stay  in 
Paris,  155 ;  his  evidence  on  his 
interview  with  Parnell,  150  ;  his 
account  subsequently  given  of  the 
interview,  157  ;  his  appeal  to  John 
Devoy,  100 ;  his  Paris  letters,  102 ; 
his  personal  safety,  103 ;  a  letter 
from  him  to  the  Times,  164  ; 
charm  of  his  personality,  165 
Lewis  and  Lewis.  Messrs.,  148 
Liddell,  Sir  Adolphus,  82,  83,  W  ; 
his  difference  with  Sir  Win. 
Harcourt  over  secret  service, 
22 
Limerick,  disturbances  in.  65 
Lomasney,  Mackay,  his  attempt  to 
wreck  London  Bridge,  125;  his 
widow,  133;  his  first  meeting 
with  Le  Caron,  150 
London    Bridge,    the     attempt     to 

wreck.  125 
London.  Fenians  in,  82,  125 
Louth,  disturbances  in,  65 
Lowther,  James,  speech  by,  95 
Luby,T.  C,  51 


INDEX 


229 


McCafferty.  John,  sentence  pro- 
nounced upon  him,  72 

MacDonald,  Mr.,  appeals  for  help  to 
prove  "  the  American  part  of  the 
( Pai  mil)  case,"  13 

McManns,  Terence  Bellew,  the 
death  and  funeral  of,  51 

MacMurrough,  Dermod,  39 

MacNeill,  Swift,  extract  from  his 
hand-book  on  anti-Irish  com- 
mercial  legislation,  170;  quotation 
from  his  "Irish  Parliament,"  187 

Mahuuy.  R.  J.,  and  the  Penal  Laws, 
41  (note) 

Majendie,  Sir  Vivian,  126 

Manchester,  arrests  in,  under  the 
Vagrant  Act,  72 

Manchester  outrage,  the,  3 

Massey,  Godfrey,  sails  for  England, 
ti4 ;  turns  'Queen's  evidence," 
71 

Matthews,  Mr.  Henry,  19, 20 ;  notice 
given  by  him  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  March  1,  1889.. 7 

Maynooth  priest,  the  typical, 189.21G 

Mayuooth  Roman  Catholic  College, 
the  influence  of,  31,  32 

Mayo,  Lord,  36  ;  his  appreciation  of 
the  author's  work,  74  ;  a  meeting 
with  him,  77 

Millen,  F.  F.,  arrives  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  expedition  for  the 
liberation  of  Ireland,  58 ;  his 
mission,  132 

Mitchell,  John,  the  release  of,  57 ; 
his  estimate  of  the  "rising  of 
1S67"..67 

Monro,  C.B.,  James,  baffles  a  plot, 
126  (note) 

Morley,  Rt.  Hon.  John,  the  quasi 
official  sanction  given  in  his  "  Life 
of  Gladstone  "  to  false  beliefs  now 
current,  2 ;  his  attack  on  the 
author,  19 ;  the  Irish  chapters  in 
his  "  Life  of  Gladstone,"  38 ;  his 
account  of  the  Kilmainham  treaty, 
96 ;  his  narrative  of  the  negotia- 
tions with  Captain  O'Shea,  100 ; 


his  silence  respecting  everything 
which  discredits  his  views  about 
Ireland,  114  ;  his  chapter  on  "  the 
Special  Commission,"  135 ;  his 
strictures  on  the  Times,  ib.  ;  his 
objection  that  Parnell  had  do 
voice  in  the  composition  of  the 
Special  Commission,  136 ;  pre- 
vents Parnell  from  appealing  to  a 
jury,  137  (note)  ;  his  objection  to 
the  procedure  of  the  Commission, 
137;  his  description  of  events  in 
Ireland  during  the  Land  League 
period,  141 ;  his  comment  on 
Le  Caron's  disclosures,  149;  his 
account  of  the  interview  between 
Le  Caron  and  Parnell,  160;  the 
mythical  Parnell  of  his  "  Life  of 
Gladstone,"  161,  162;  his  narra- 
tive of  Home  Rule,  179 ;  his  pre- 
sentment of  the  Home  Rule 
controversy  in  his  "  Life  of  Glad- 
stone," 182;  his  political  bias, 
183 ;  quoted  in  a  letter  to 
the  Times,  192;  his  account 
of  ParnelPs  repudiation  of  his 
pledges  of  1886.  .196  ;  an  extract 
from  his  diary,  197  ;  a  conversa- 
tion with  him,  199 

Morris,  Lord,  in  the  lobby  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  173  (note) 

Munster,  the  Phoenix  movement  in, 
50 

Murray,  Dr.,  31 


"  National      Self-government," 

forced   to    the    front,    116;    Mr. 

Gladstone's  reference  to,  116,  117 
Nationalist  Members  of  Parliament, 

the  aim  of.  190' ;  resolution  passed 

at  a  meeting   of  them   held   in 

Dublin,  196 
Nationalists,   the   demands  of,  180, 

181  (note).  195 
"  New    Departure,"    the,   So :    the 

compact  of.  1  GO ;  formal  approval 

given  to,  163 


230 


INDEX 


Nineteenth  Century,  the,  an  article 

from  M.  Davitt  in,  164 
"  No  Rent "  manifesto,  the,  issue  of, 

94 


O'Brien,  Barry,  his  "Life  of 
Paruell,"  101  (note);  his  view  of 
Paruell,  161 

O'Brien,  Smith,  the  conspiracy  of 
47 

O'Brien,  William,  his  "  Recollec- 
tions," 1G1  (note) 

O'Connor,  John,  sent  as  a  representa- 
tive by  Egan  to  the  Clan-na-Gael 
meeting  at  Chicago,  1C3 

O'Connor,  T.  P.,  attends  the  Chicago 
Convention,  118;  his  "Paruell 
Movement,''  1G2  (note) 

O'Hagan,  Lord,  49 

O'Keefe,  Arthur,  144.  214 

O'Kelly,  J.  J.,  his  explanation  of 
the  object  of  the  interview  be- 
tween Paruell  and  Le  Caron,  150  : 
his  evidence  before  the  Special 
Commission,  158 

O'Leary.  John,  his  "  Recollectious 
of  Fenians  and  Feniauism,"  215 

O'Mahony,  John,  50 ;  presides  at 
the  "  First  National  Convention 
of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood,"  50 ; 
urges  the  issue  of  Fenian  bonds, 
58 ;  is  ousted  by  Stephens,  GO 

O'Neill,  General  John,  5  ;  a  baud  of 
men  under  him  invades  Canada, 
59 

O'Shea.  Captain,  98 ;  his  levidence 
before  the  Special  Commission, 
114  ;  the  result  of  his  obtaining  a 
decree  of  divorce  against  his  wife, 
214 

O'She'a.  Mrs.,  100,  101 


Papal     rescript     condemning     the 

League,  the.  220 
Paris  Fenian  movement  hatched  in. 

50 


Parliamentary  leaders  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  the  planned  destruc- 
tion of,  12G 

Parnell,  Miss  Anna,  inaugurates  the 
Land  League,  93i 

Parnell,  Charles  Stewart,  proclaims 
the  "  No  Rent "  gospel,  85 ; 
crosses  the  Atlantic  as  herald  of 
the  Land  League,  8G ;  Glad- 
stone's philippic  agaiust  him,  93, 
95  ;  his  reply  to  the  philippic,  94  ; 
is  lodged  in  Kilniainham  gaol.i'fc. ; 
his  release  from  Kilniainham,  9G; 
his  denunciation  of  the  Phoenix 
Park  murders,  100.  Ill;  his 
knowledge  of  their  instigation, 
113  ;  the  cheque  which  he  sent  to 
F.  Byrne,  114  ;  damning  evidence 
against  him,  ib. ;  his  "  last  link  " 
Cincinnati  speech,  120 ;  his  paid 
emissaries,  134 ;  his  refusal  to 
appeal  to  a  jury,  13G,  137;  his 
responsibility  for  the  procedure  of 
the  Special  Commission,  138;  Mr. 
Morley's  account  of  his  visit  to 
Bawarden,  144  ;  his  superstitions, 
145;  his  tcceutricities  and  habits, 
14G ;  his  interview  with  Le 
Caron  in  the  library  corridor  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  153,  15G, 
157;  he  sends  help  to  the  Boers, 
159;  his  real  character,  10]  ;  his 
hatred  of  lEnglaud,  108;  words 
spoken  by  him  at  Cork  in  1885.. 
190 ;  is  repudiated  by  Gladstone, 
214  ;  is  supported  by  the  National- 
ists after  Captain  O'Shea's 
divorce,  ib  ;  repudiated  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  clergy  in  Ireland, 
215;  marries  Mrs.  O'Shea.  ib.  ; 
his  death,  ib. 

Parnell,  Mrs.  C.  S.,  122 

Parnell  Commission.  See  "  Special 
Commission  " 

"  Parnell  Movement,"  the,  102 
(note) 

•  Parnellism  ami  Crime,"  articles 
m  the  Time?,  4 


INDEX 


231 


Parnellite  Members  of  Parliament : 
their  quarrel  in  "  Committee  Room 
15,"  198 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  as  Chief  Secretary 
for  Ireland,  49 

Penal  laws,  the  administration  of,  41 
(note),  48 

Philadelphia,  third  Annual  Conven- 
tion held  in,  119,  121 

Phoenix  movement,  the,  50 

Phcenix  Park  murders,  the,  102-115 ; 
Mr.  Morley's  comment  on,  105 ; 
their  plots  known  to  the  Govern- 
ment. 10t5 ;  Parnell's  denunciation 
of  them,  106,  111  ;  change  in  the 
state  of  Ireland  after  them,  107; 
their  instigators,  110,  113 

Pigott,  Richard,  his  confession  of 
forgery,  138;  his  denial  of  the 
"  facsimile  "  letter,  144 ;  accept- 
ance of  him  as  a  witness  for  the 
Times,  153 ;  his  principal  forgery, 
212  ;  his  cross-examination,  213 

Pitt,  the  policy  of,  174,  187 

Potato  famine,  the,  46 

Presbyterians.  See  "  Irish  Pres- 
byterians " 

Priest  rule,  34,  216 

Protestants.   See  "  Irish  Protestants  " 

Puritans,  exodus  of,  from  Ulster, 
170 

Queen's  County,  disturbances  in,  65 

Radicat/Doctrinaire,  the,  his  ideas 

of  fair  play,  19 
Rebellion  of  "l  798,  the,  43 
Rebellion  Act,  1799,  the,  43 
Rebow,   M.P.,   Mr.,   is    informed    of 

reports  from  Le  Caron,  6 
"  Recollections  of  Fenians  and 
Fenianism,"  John  O'Learey's,  215 
Redmond,  John,  196  (note) ;  his 
lieutenants,  171  ;  quotation  from 
a  speech  which  he  made  in  Parlia- 
ment, 202;  his  character,  202 
(note) 


Redmond,  W.  E.,  123 ;  extract  from 

his    address    to    the    Nationalist 

Convention  at  Boston,  ib. 
Reid,  Sir  T.  Wemyss,  his  "  Life  of 

Forster,"  101  (note) 
••  Revolutionary  Directory,"  the,  159 
Ribbon  Lodges,  the,  activity  of,  47 
Ridley,    Sir    M.    White,    129,    130 

(note),  131  (note) 
•'Rising   of  1867,''   the,   56;   some 

incidents  of.  67 
Roman  Catholic  University,  a,  origin 

of  the  demands  for,  35 
Rosebery,  Lord,   his  relations   with 

Sir  William  Harcourt,  23,  24 
Rossa,  O'Donovan,  54,  125 
Russell,  Sir  Charles,  his  responsibility 

for  the  order  of  the  proceedings 

at  the  Special  Commission,  13S ; 

his  conduct  at   the   Commission, 

143  ;  cross-examination  by,  152  ; 

his   cross-examination  of    Pigott, 

213 
Russell,  Lord  John,  the  Government 

of,  46 


Salisbury,  Lord,  an  interview  with, 
129 ;'  the  action  of  his  Govern- 
ment in  forcing  through  Parlia- 
ment the  statute  appointing  the 
Special  Commission,  135 

Secret  service  work,  88 

Seward,  Mr.,  his  alleged  favourable 
reception  of  the  Fenians,  57 

Sexton,  M.P.,  Mr.,  123;  his  de- 
scription of  Alexander  Sullivan,  ib. 

Sheehy,  Father,  1 13 

"|  Skirmishing  Fund,  The,"  the  found- 
ing of,  US 

Smith,  Gilbart,  visits  Le  Caron,  165 

"Special  Commission,"  the,  135- 
146 ;  a  misleading  picture  of  it, 
3 ;  appointment  of  it,  4  ;  Captain 
O'Shca's  evidence  before  it,  111; 
evidence  given  at,  118  ;  Mr. 
Morley's  chapter  on  the  Com- 
mission in  his  "  Life  of  Gladstone," 


232 


INDEX 


135 :  the  action  of  Lord  Salisbury's 
Government  in  forcing  through 
Parliament  the  Statute  appointing 
the  Commission,  ib. ;  Mr.  Morley's 
objection  that  Parnell  had  no 
voice  in  the  composition  of  the 
Commission,  136  ;  his  objection  to 
the  procedure  of  the  Commission, 
137  ;  its  findings,  140,  141 ;  ex- 
penses of  the  Commission,  142  ; 
reason  why  the  author  was  not 
called  as  a  witness,  147 

Special  constables,  the  enrolment  of 
77 

Spencer,  Earl.  96  (note)  ;  his  arrival 
in  Ireland,  103  ;  escapes  the  assas- 
sin's knife,  103  (note) 

Stephens,  James.  49 ;  founds  a 
weekly  newspaper,  52  ;  arrest  and 
escape  of,  55  ;  lands  in  New  York, 
60 ;  his  success  as  a  demagogue, 
ib. ;  his  tour  through  the  New 
England  States,  61 ;  his  reckless 
personal  extravagance,  ib. ;  his 
last  public  appearance  in  New 
York,  ib. ;  his  deceit  and  cowardice, 
71 

Strongbow's  invasion,  38-40 

Sullivan,  Alexander,  120;  closing 
words  of  his  opening  speech  at 
Philadelphia,  121 ;  is  appointed 
President  of  the  new  League,  ib. ; 
refuses  re-election  as  President, 
1 22 ;  Mr.  Sexton's  description 
"f  him,  123;  instigates  Cronin's 
expulsion  from  the  Clan-na-Gael, 
132;  Le  Caron  is  deputed  to  see 
him,  156;  the  appeal  to  linn 
tbrough  Le  Caron,  160;  h< 
bitter  advocate  of  finer  it,i 
•  Suspects  Act,"  Mr.  Farster1  ,  93  j 
tbe  Cabinet  accepts  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's proposal  to  allow  thi  ^d 
to  lapse,  97 

Swe<  ay,  "  General,"  58 

Tallaoiit,  the  1MI  of,  the  rally- 
ing point  for  Dublin  Fenians,  65 


Times,  the,  articles  in,  on  "  Parnell- 
ism  and  Crime,"  4  ;  leading  article 
in  it  on  Sir  William  Harcourt,  9 ; 
the  author's  letter  to  it,  10 ;  has 
no  access  to  Le  Caron's  letters, 
15;  is  not  assisted  in  the  pre- 
sentation of  its  case  by  the  As- 
sistant Commissioner  of  Police, 
17;  success  of  the  author's  letter 
to  it,  18  ;  its  complaint  of  lack  of 
support  by  the  Government,  26 ; 
Mr.  Morley's  strictures  on  it  for 
the  charges  it  brought  against  the 
Parnellites,  135  ;  Mr.  Gladstones 
view  of  the  charges,  ib. ;  the 
proprietors  unprepared  for  the 
action  forced  upon  them,  138;  its 
charges  against  Parnell,  139, 140 ; 
letter  from  the  Ch  ief  Commissioner 
of  Police,  147;  acceptance  of  Pigott 
as  a  witness  for  the  Times,  153; 
a  letter  to  the  Times  from  Le 
Caron,  164 ;  quotation  from  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Morley  to  the 
Times,  192 

Tippcrary.  disturbances  in,  65 

Trinity  College,  Dublin,!  lie  Members 
and  Fellows  of,  28 ;  Historical 
Society  of,  29 

'•  Twenty-five  Years  in  the  Secret 
Service,"  5  (note) 

Tynan,  Patrick,  210 


Ulster,  no  rising  in,  65 

Union,  the,  the  bitterness  felt  by 
so  many  to  it.  166;  tbe  Protestants 
once  opposed  it,  170;  ite  success  in 
winning  over  all  the  intelligent  and 
prosperoui  classes,  172-174,207 

Unionist  Conventions  <'f  1892,  the, 
207,  218-222 

University,  a,  the  benefits  of,  30 


VioTOEi  k,  Queen,  \  be  pi  I  i 

her  jubili  e,  126 
Vincent,  Sir  Howard,  I  I  2 


INDEX 


233 


Walmek,  an   interview  with   Lord 

Salisbury  at,  129 
Webster,    Sir    Richard.      See   aho 

Alverstone,  Lord,  151,  152 
Wenkerdam,  the  S.S.,  131 
"  Whiteboy  Act,  the,"  43 
William   III.,    penal    laws    of    the 


Protestant     Parliament     of,    40, 

41 
Wodehou.se,   Lord,  afterwards   Earl 

of  Kimberley,  53 
Wontner,  Mr.,  148 
Woollen  trade,  the,  the  destruction 

of,  170 


THE    END 


PBINTED  BY   WILLIAM   CLOWES   AND  SONS,    LIMITED,    LONDON   AND  BECCLES. 


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